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The Genetic Link of the Viking – Era Norse to Central Asia:An Assessment of the Y Chromosome DNA, Archaeological,Historical and Linguistic Evidence

David K. Faux

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Abstract

There is general agreement that by 8000 BC the retreat of the glaciers had left most of Scandinavia open forhuman settlement; that there has likely been continuous settlement in Norway and Sweden since this time.It is generally accepted that descendants of these hunter – gatherers from three southern European glacialrefugia ultimately became the Scandinavian Vikings circa 800 AD. What has not been adequatelyaddressed is the evidence demonstrating that there was a significant movement of people, as well as theirhorses and cultural traditions, from Central Asia to Scandinavia in the years immediately prior to theViking - Era. Many or most explorations of the matter have assumed that trade explains the appearance ofall the Central Asian finds in Scandinavia. What this approach fails to explain is the presence ofScandinavians with DNA signatures that are not European, but which bear a direct link to the CaucasusMountain and Central Asian regions. It is also argued here that it was this population shift and consequentcultural upheavals that sparked the Scandinavian expansions in the years to follow. What makes thepresent study entirely different from those who have addressed (often somewhat controversially) thismatter is the reliance on Y chromosome genetic evidence. Historical, linguistic, archaeological datasources are used to support the Central Asian migration hypothesis. The focus of the present study is tocross – validate these other sources of evidence by analyzing the results of testing of the non – recombiningpart of the Y chromosome (NRY). This male lineage marker is known for its power as a tool in theexploration of human population movements. In this case it is shown that not only did human groupsmigrate from Central Asia to Scandinavia, but in addition genetic evidence concludes that the horses soimportant in Scandinavian life also originated in Mongolia, and were brought to Scandinavia atapproximately the same time as the proposed migration of humans. It is argued that these people with along history of using horses and ships to extract wealth and territory from opponents are the most likelycandidates for the leaders of those who founded the Norse colonies such as the Shetland Islands circa800AD and Iceland circa 870AD. The most important contribution of the present study is to use Y-DNAgenetic databases with samples scattered from Mongolia to Britain to show the continuity of genetic markerpatterns from the Shetland Islands and other Norse colonies to groups such as the Altai of Central Asia, andthe Azeri of Azerbaijan, and the lack of similarity of this subset of the Scandinavian population to localEastern Europeans

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Prologue

The present study emerged out of a single observation. Genetic Y chromosome DNAtesting revealed that the author’s uncle Williamson (and thus his maternal grandfather),whose roots in the male line lie in the Shetland Islands, had an unusual pattern of matchesto the 12 “scores” (markers). The largest number of close matches to this rarehaplogroup R1a1 (more on this genetic grouping later) Norse signature from Shetlandwere not seen in large and diverse European samples in which R1a1 predominates (e.g.,Poland), but among the tribal Siberian Altai of Central Asia (33 close matches out of thesample of 46 who had a Haplogroup R1a1 DNA signature). While this could simply be

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an anomaly, the data emerging out of the Shetland Islands Y-DNA Surname Project(www.davidkfaux.org/shetlandislandsY-DNA.html) began to paint a picture of an Asianpresence within the Norse population. All other R1a1 participants with aboriginalsurnames (e.g., Robertson, Mathewson) also had the same match profile as the aboveWilliamson. Over time, and as the sample size increased, other rare haplogroups, seenbut rarely anywhere in Europe emerged. These included Q (seen almost exclusively inAsia and North America), and K (found in Asia and the Middle East) came to light.These three particular DNA signature patterns were also seen in recently publishedsamples of Norway, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands (the latter two being founded, as wasShetland, as Norse colonies).

If the interpretation of the genetic evidence is valid, it is other sources of data that willhopefully point to a time of the migration, and possibly even the names of historicaltribes and individuals that took part in this proposed folk movement.

The thesis to be tested in the present study is as follows: Through a detailed examinationof the genetic evidence in the form of the paternally inherited non recombining (NRY)part of the Y chromosome, it will be possible to show that there is a continuity betweensome of the DNA signatures of Scandinavia, and those of the Caucasus Mountain regionand Central Asia, reflecting a migration of people to Sweden and Norway prior to theViking - Era; and further that there is sufficient archaeological, historical and linguistdata to support the DNA findings.

General Introduction

Steeped in myth and mystique, Northmen from the Scanadinavian countries blasted on tothe world’s stage in the late 8th Century, shaking to the core the whole of the then known“civilized” world. Known later as the Vikings, these men of mystery, wolves from thenorth, terrorized people wherever they went, pillaging sacred Christian monastic sites,and taking male and female slaves to sell in the markets of Dublin or Baghdad. Acomponent group known as the “berserkers” became human whirlwinds, literallyshowing no fear and committing acts of unimaginable blood rituals. These men ofadventure also colonized the lands they occupied (e.g., Dublin, the East Coast ofEngland, Northern Scotland and the Isles, and Normandy). They also establishedsettlements in largely or wholly unoccupied territory in Orkney, Shetland, the FaroeIslands, and Iceland. Once they accepted Christianity and a more settled way of life bythe beginning of the first millennium, as an identifiable group, they faded into relativeobscurity. They did, however, leave their genetic stamp in all the areas they “visited”.

As a rule, most recent books (of which there are many) may give a short rendition ofsome stories (“historical fiction”) found in the Icelandic sagas (to be discussed in detaillater), provide some detail as to life just before the Viking era, and tend to begin the storyof the Vikings in 793 with the infamous attack on the monastery at Lindesfarne,Northumbria, England. Typical of the works that explores the early pre – Viking historyof Scandinavia is “Cultural Atlas of the Viking World” (Graham – Campbell et al.,1994), which begins with the Ice Ages and uses historical and archaeological evidence to

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provide a background to the eventual emergence of the Vikings. Most agree that modernScandinavians are descendants of Stone Age hunter – gatherers. None describe asignificant migration in historical times that might have turned the established socialorder upside down and established a new ruling dynasty as a consequence of this wave ofimmigration. If the hypothesis is confirmed a re-writing of pre Viking – eraScandinavian history is required. So how could historians and others have missedsomething that may have been so important? Two primary reasons stand out. First is theinescapable fact that there is a historical “dark age” in all of Scandinavia as the RomanEmpire began to collapse in the 4th Century. No longer were studies of the names andlocations of tribes in the Germanic north such as that of Pliny the Elder (circa 77 AD),Tacitus (circa 98 AD) and Ptolemy (circa 150 AD) being penned. Familiarity with thepeoples of the known world is a function of distance from the Limes (Roman Empireborders). It was not until the 13th Century that Icelandic scribes took upon themselves thetask of recording the history of their people. The perception of this work has always beenthat so much mythology was interwoven with potential fact that many have dismissedany stories about the years prior to Charlemagne as unreliable and mostly fiction. As willbe shown, this is a perception that does not hold up with a careful detailed analysis of thecontent of these works. To be fair, it is only with the latest genetic findings that a re-examination of the Icelandic Eddas and similar texts is warranted since the claims (e.g.,about the ruling Aseir people and “mythical” Asgaard as the home of the Scandinavianprincely ancestors) either gain support or they do not.

Each source of evidence will now be examined, culminating in an integration of eachwith the genetic findings.

Archaeology and Cultural Background of Pre – VikingNorway

General Background: Unfortunately we do not have clear evidence of the originsof the early Norse. It is generally assumed that they crossed to what is today Norway andSweden about 8000 BC when the region of Denmark, Southern Sweden, and Englandwere one land mass. “The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings” (Haywood, 1995)and the above “Cultural Atlas of the Viking World” agree that there is no convincingevidence of subsequent migrations into Scandinavia, thus it seems likely, according tothese sources, that these first hunter – gatherers were the ancestors of the Vikings whoemerged circa 800 AD. It is the purpose of the present work to challenge thisassumption.

A much more balanced and detailed study of the matter is presented in “Vikings:the North Atlantic Saga” (Price, 2000) where the author notes the significant changes inculture, “which may reflect new population groups” (p. 35) occurring with the FunnelBeaker, Battle Axe, and Pitted Ware cultures which existed between about 4000 BC to2200 BC.

Norway would have been very sparsely populated indeed in the Middle Stone Age toabout 4000 BC. The latter figure marks the transition between the Mesolithic and

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Neolithic (New Stone Age), and at this time cattle raising and farming began in thesouthern reaches of Scandinavia (including south eastern Norway). A hunter – gathererway of life would still have been predominant in the northern reaches of the region,where trade in walrus tusks and hides was an important part of the local economy. Byabout 2000 BC, the stone tool kits began to give way to items made of bronze that, viatrade routes, made exotic trade goods available to the northern most reaches of Norway.While there are rich archaeological remains in Denmark, any statements about Norwayare largely by inference. It is likely that at this time a rich and powerful elite emerged inScandinavia with access to the bronze goods.

About the 1st millennium BC there was a transition to the Iron Age, the ingredients ofwhich were freely available in the bog iron of Scandinavia. This Age is divided into anumber of phases, with the last being the era when the Roman Empire held sway overmuch of Continental Europe (1st to beginning of the 5th Century AD). These latter datesshall assume a particular importance shortly in connection with the thesis of this study. Itwas also a time of mass migrations in response to the tumultuous changes occurringthroughout Europe and Asia.

The information here and below is found in works noted above unless otherwiseindicated.

The Roman Age (1st to 4th Centuries AD): Unfortunately relatively little is knownof Norway during this period, compared to the more southerly regions. What has beenestablished is that the Norse were situated in the southern and mid sections of what istoday Norway, and that the Danes occupied the most southern part of Sweden as well asthe rest of what is today Denmark with the exception of the Jutland Peninsula.

The Swedes were divided into two groups. To the north on both sides of Lake Malarwere the Svears (who would give their name to the modern country) with their royal seatat Old Uppsala, and to the south were the East Gotar residing east of Lake Vaner in theprovinces of Vastergotland and, (significantly as we shall see) Ostergotland, and WestGotar from Western Sweden and Eastern Norway. Around 44 BC various groups ofScandinavians began to move south to the Continent and expand in numbers, includingthe Goths (who became the historical Ostrogoths and Visigoths) and Vandals (perhapsfrom Vendel just beyond the northern reaches of the Svear lands), of which more will besaid later.

Migration Period (375 to 550 AD): After the fall of the Roman Empire circa 420AD, there was a mass migration of peoples across Europe, largely from east to west (e.g.,the Visigoths migrating to the Iberian Peninsula), however it is typically believed thatthis, “great migration affected Scandinavia only slightly.” (Graham – Campbell et al., p.28)

The archaeological record (documented by Tejral, 1997) shows new artistic features thatmanifest themselves at this time (first part of the 5th Century) and have been attributed to

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Scythian (Siberian tribal peoples from south central Asia for whom the horse wasparamount) influences. Animal motifs with imaginary beasts and elephants withelaborate decorative work appear in Scandinavia – which “points unquestionably todefinite Eastern connections.” (Talbot Rice, 1957). Specifically these artifacts, accordingto Tejral, are part of the “Soesdala Style” (horse paraphernalia including stampedornamentation, and animal heads shown in profile).

Also making an appearance in the archaeological record of the 5th Century arecharacteristic bracelets, and since they are of “Scandinavian origin and not a usual tradingobject the flow must have followed Huns or Eastgermanic horsemen from Scandinaviaback to Southeastern Europe” (Brandt, 2004). There are apparently identical objectsfound in the Czekish Zhuran – mound at Brno and at Bornholm and Oeland in Sweden(Terjal). At Bornholm, for example horses are found in the graves (a Central Asiantradition). Basically the archaeological evidence strongly suggests that from the 5th

Century there was a strong cultural continuity between the areas in Scandanavia andpoints south and includes artifacts from as far east as Afghanistan. The sheer magnitudeof the changes argue for a movement of people as opposed to a cultural diffusion – thechange was simply too rapid and without any evidence of a transition – it was apparentlya replacement. There will be those who will see all this as little more than evidence ofincreased trade, but it is the sheer scale and rapidity of the change that argues for amigration of individuals who brought “foreign” cultural traditions with them.

Evidence from Norway provides more evidence to support the “Central Asian migrationtheory”. For example in Eveboe at Nordfjord in Western Norway is seen a burial moundthat duplicates what is seen in the East. Here is found a 5th Century grave with Syrianglass, a geometric toy seen only in Iran and Afghanistan and inhumations of three chiefs“connected in a way which involved the Huns or Eastergermanic horsemen in theDanubian area” (Brandt, 2004).

Other material goods with a Scythian stamp appear with greater frequency as the Viking -Era approaches. For example, “Small – scale objects such as the bronze plaques [fromthe burial mounds] at Borre in Norway, show this very clearly both as regards to theanimals that appear on them – stags, griffins and imaginary creatures – and in the style.Even the muscle markings which are included are clearly derived from the Sythian dotand comma convention”. This influence continues right to the Viking period and beyond.Talbot Rice continues, “The same influence is also evident in large – scale work, notablythe animal figureheads on the Viking ships, such as those from Oseberg and Gokstadt,placed there to ward off the evil eye. The Gokstadt horse fits into the Scythian frameparticularly well” (pp. 178-192).

An exacting assessment of the archaeological evidence (Fitzhugh and Ward, 2000), statesthat this shift in styles was a function of the mass movement of peoples across Europeafter the fall of the Roman Empire. Here the flowering of full animal ornamentationbegan early in this period in southern Scandinavia “through influences from Scythic,Oriental, Celtic, and Roman art” (p. 62). Scythian peoples include the Scythians,

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Sarmatians (including the Alans or Ases), and Huns (all originating in Central Asia) whoare noted in the Chinese, Greek, Byzantine, Roman and other documentary sources.

Farmsteads in Norway from this Period have been excavated showing that isolatedfarmsteads were common, with a rectangular stone longhouse, and structures suited to thegrowing of crops and the raising of animals part of the farmstead. It is, however, at thistime when artifacts begin to show up at sites such as Lake Malar in Sweden where exoticgold coins from the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as a Buddah figurine attributed tonorthern India have been found. Clearly, again, there was either an exchange of goods(the commonly held theory) or a movement of people from southeast to northwest neededto explain these finds.

There appears to be a fairly abrupt change in religious beliefs and practices when afterabout 500 AD sacrifices in the form of humans, and as well gold foil figurines and coinpendants were buried near the homes of the major chiefs.

Immediately Prior to the Viking – Era was a time when very elaborate burials in southernSweden hint at the presence of a Royal lineage, and likely the centralized power ofregional chieftains. It appears that there were two burial practices relating to high statusindividuals, and practiced in close proximity. The Vendel Cemetery of the Sveres on theeast bank of the River Fyris, which flows southward to Lake Malar, contains bodiesplaced in boats and surrounded by their personal possessions, and ringed with stones.These are a mere 27 kilometers upstream from the Gamla Uppsala burials noted below,and are considered by many or most archaeologists to be the retainers of the latter. It alsoseems reasonable to propose that they represent an entirely different tribal and culturalunit – but both “aristocratic” in status. These could be the descendants of King Gyfir, theSvere king discussed by Snorri Sturluson in The Prose Eddas and Heimskringla notedbelow.

Near the point where the River Fyris empties into Lake Malar is found a cemetery withcremation burials containing a wealth of grave goods and covered with large earthenmounds. What becomes particularly interesting in light of the hypothesis set forth here isthat at this location at Gamla Uppsala with burial mounds 20 feet high (without boatburials) have been associated with the above Heimskringla. Within the mounds havebeen found highly decorated armor and horse trappings consistent with Scythianinfluence. An organic analysis of the soil in the vicinity is consistent with the arrival of asubstantial number of horses in the 5th Century, and it is at this time that they make anappearance in the graves of chiefs and warriors. Also, what could be recovered fromthese cremation burials suggested a grave goods assemblage that included itemssuggesting a Southeastern European and Persian origin; and in particular the cremation ofa woman in one of the mounds included an antique mirror with an eye at the backsidewhich was interpreted as being Sarmatian since these items are very common in theburials of Sarmatian – Hun women in the Black Sea region (Ph.D. dissertation of AnkeBodo, 1993, as reported by Brandt, 2004).

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Specifically in this location there are three mounds considered to be the burial sites of the6th Century Kings Egil, Aun, and Adils who are all members of the Yngling Dynasty (seelater). In Fitzhugh and Ward they state, “In central Sweden the first generations of theSvear from the sixth century are buried in Old Uppsala.” (p. 73). Again this takes on apoigniancy when considering the dating of the proposed migration of Odin’s people toScandinavia.

The Vendel Period (7th and 8th Centuries): The Migration Period and the VendelPeriod seem to move seamlessly from one to the other in Scandinavia. It is at this time,approximately 600 AD, at Borre just south of Oslo, that the largest grave field in allScandinavia is found. Here there are nine large barrows (up to thirty feet high) ormounds (the oldest dating to about 600 to 650 AD, and the most recent being about 900AD – all probably the same family associated with the hall located nearby) associatedwith a row of lesser ones. Those excavated contain ship burials with horse trappings inabundance. This is believed to be the burial site of the Norse Vestfold Dynasty noted inthe Yngling Sagas. In close proximity is the well – known Oseberg ship burial datingfrom 820. Under the mound was found an impressive sailing ship to house the remainsof a Viking – Era queen, along with sumptuous grave goods including elaborately carvedsleds, two horses and an ornate cart. Oseberg means “Ases mounds” – suggesting a royalconnection and tying in with the Yngling Sagas once again.

It will now be necessary to turn our attention to the south east, beginning at a time beforethe Scandinavians had likely encountered any of these nomadic Asian horsemen. Asnoted previously, significantly none of the standard texts on the Vikings and theirforebearers (e.g., “Historical Atlas of the Viking World”) consider any movement ofpeople into Scandinavia during the above three mentioned periods – let alone men fromAsia.

In conclusion, the archaeological record indicates a significant change in religiouspractices occurring in Scandinavia in the 5th Century AD. The dramatic alterations inartifact assemblages and burial practices strongly point to a change “coming from thesouth around 450 or a little earlier” (Brandt, p.30) a people who would have a significantimpact on all aspects of life in Scandinavia – and yet it goes unnoticed in the standardtexts.

This period in time marked the beginning of a change in the centers of power to GamlaUppsala and Southeastern Bornholm. The thesis of the present study is that thesechanges were initiated by the arrival of Uldin / Odin and his mixed Ostrogoth / Herul andHun / Alanic forces who established new dynasties and brought with them theunmistakable Y chromosome DNA signatures of Central Asia.

Evidence from historical and linguistic sources will now be considered.

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Historical Evidence

The Norse (Icelandic) Sagas in Relation to History

It is unfortunate the there is no accurate and reliable text which would provide acomprehensive history of pre – Viking Norway and the other Scandinavian countries.The available documentary sources have been viewed with much skepticism byhistorians, since the Icelandic Sagas contain stories of gods, giants, dwarfs, and otherelements of Norse mythology. However, it is known that the author of these texts, SnorriSturluson was a poet and a historian. He had access to oral traditions and manuscripts,including genealogies (now lost) when he wrote circa 1200. His knowledge of geographyis excellent, and he mentions many specific places by name. Considering that he waswriting for an audience (Kings of Norway) who were likely to expect stories of greatdeeds of their ancestors, there is likely some exaggeration and distortion. None – the –less, if the material is sifted cautiously there is much to be gleaned about the history ofIceland and the Norse people.

Perhaps an analogy could be drawn between Homer’s, “The Illiad” and well as Vergil’s“Aeneid” which were thought by most scholars of the classics to be works of fiction, andthus a foolish waste to time to go on wild goose chases trying to locate the placesmentioned in these works. Fortunately for the world, Heinrich Schliemann wasconvinced that Homer was not waxing poetic at every turn but was telling stories aboutreal places whose locations were familiar to him. He succeeded in archaeologicallyinvestigating this mythical city whose existence was very real and in the locationdescribed by Homer. This finding at the same time confirmed the validity of the storytold by Vergil of the escape of the few Trojans to Italy. With the spade of thearchaeologist the core of the “myth” morphed into reality. Thus it behoves all to take thesagas told by Snorri as a probable blend of fact and fiction – but it is the fact componentthat is compelling.

Snorri’s two prose works the Eddas and the Heimskringla will now be explored to obtainclues as to the origin of the Norse people. Specific information about sources is providedin the Reference section under “Norse Sagas”.

The Prose Eddas: The present author has consulted two translations of this work,that by Anderson (on-line version, 2004), and Brodeur (1916). In the Prologue to hiswork, Snorri sets the backdrop to the sagas to follow. He speaks of the Norse god Odinas the progenitor of a long line of rulers of the Scandinavian and Germanic countries, andgives him an ancestral home – Asia. Snorri speaks of Odin making “ready to journey outof Turkland, and was accompanied by a great number of people, young folk and old, menand women; and they had with them much goods of great price.” Furthermore, “Theymade no end of their journeying till they were come north into the land that is now calledSaxland [Germany]; there Odin tarried for a long space, and took the land into his ownhand, far and wide” (p. 8). Here Odin set up three of his sons as “land – wardens”, one inEast Saxland, another in Westphalia, and a third in Frankland, and “from all these are

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sprung many and great houses” (p. 8). Odin then headed northward, installing another ofhis sons as ruler of Jutland, and proceeded on to Sweden whose king was Gylfi. “Whenthe king learned of the coming of these men of Asia, who were called Asir, he went tomeet them, and made offer to them that Odin should have such power in his realm as hehimself wielded.” Continuing, Snorri reported that, “The fields and the choice lands inthat place seemed fair to Odin, and he chose for himself the site of a city which is nowcalled Sigtun. There he established chieftains in the fashion which had prevailed inTurkland; he set up also twelve head – men to be doomsmen over the people and to judgethe laws of the land; and he ordained also all laws as, there had been before, in Turkland,and according to the customs of the Turks. After that he went into the north, until he wasstopped by the sea, which men thought lay around all the lands of the earth; and there heset his son over this kingdom, which is now called Norway. This king was Saemingr; thekings of Norway trace their lineage from him, and so do also the jarls and the othermighty men, as is said in the Haleygjatal. Odin had with him one of his sons calledYngvi, who was king in Sweden after him; and those houses come from him that arenamed Ynglings. The Asir took wives of the land for themselves, and some also for theirsons.” (p. 13)

Apparently then this migration from the land of the Turkish peoples was largely a malephenomenon, and thus there should be seen in the genetic patterns of the Norse andSwedes some percentage of Asian Y chromosomes (male lineage), but little or no trace ofAsiatic female migration (mitochondrial DNA, female lineage).

Heimskringla: The author consulted two translations here also; that of Laing(1844), and Monsen and Smith (1990). Snorri wrote this saga as a chronicle of the Kingsof Norway. In the Preface to this work Snorri provides an overview of his sources –which include stories told to him by “intelligent people”, plus details of the familybranches of the Norse rulers obtained from diverse sources including “ancient familyregisters”, where kings and kin have written their genealogies, as well as songs sungabout such matters. A hint at his search for historical facts is reflected in his commentthat, “although we cannot know the truth there may be in these, yet we have the certaintythat old wise men held them to be true.” Snorri then proceeds to list his sources.

The most important of the sagas written by Snorri here is “The Ynglinga Saga, or theStory of the Yngling Family from Odin to Halfdan the Black.”

Snorri begins by providing a lesson in geography–

1. The Situation of the Countries, including how the Black Sea divides the three partsof the earth into the eastern part known as Asia, the western segment called Europa, andto the north Swithiod (e.g., Scandinavia) whose northernmost reaches are uninhabitabledue to the frost and cold, whereas the south there are many races of man and manylanguages including Tartareans, Kalmuks, and Mongolians. The three parts of the earthare divided by the River Vanaquisil (Don) that enters the Black Sea. Those residingalong this river are known as the people of Vanaland. Snorri speaks of the Straits of

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Gibralter and various parts of Africa – demonstrating a clear understanding of thegeography of the known world.

2. Of the People of Asia, Snorri here speaks of the land east of the Don being knownas Asaland, or Asaheim, and the chief city in that land was called Asgaard, thehome of Odin. While this might be a mythical place, the evidence discussed laterwould lead one to believe that the city referred to by Snorri is Chasgar, located inthe region of the Caucasian ridge, “called by Strasbo Aspargum the Asburg, orcastle of the asas”. A warrior with an unparalled track record of wins, he came tobe looked upon as a god and worshiped. One of his greatest battles was againstthe people of Vanaland (i.e., those west of the Don) however this battle see –sawed back and forth until a truce was made and hostages exchanged. There is aninteresting anecdote that will be noted since it has a direct tie in with a leader ofthe peoples of east of the Don. As part of the truce between the peoples ofVanaland (between the Don and the Danube) and Odin’s people hostages wereexchanged, including one Mimir, “the wisest of men” who, during amisunderstanding while in Vanland, was beheaded by his hosts and the severedhead sent to Odin. Apparently Odin then kept the head, and used it to workcharms.

5. Odin Divides his Kingdom, “There goes a great mountain barrier from north-eastto south-west, which divides the Greater Swithiod [ancient Samartia and ScythiaMagna] from other kingdoms. South of this mountain ridge [Ural Mountains] it isnot far to Turkland [probably Turkistan in around the Aral Sea in Asia Minor],where Odin had great possessions. In those times Roman chiefs went widearound the world, subduing to themselves all people; and on this account manychiefs fled from their domains. But Odin having foreknowledge, and magic –sight, knew that his posterity would come to settle and dwell in the northern halfof the world. He therefore set his brothers Ve and Vilje over Asgaard; and hehimself, with all the gods and a great many other people, wandered out, firstwestward to Gardarike [Russia], and then south to Saxland [Germany].” At thispoint the story takes an abridged version of what is stated in the Eddas, and againOdin ends up in Sweden in some sort of power sharing arrangement with theSwedish king Gylve (Gylfi), who realized that he could not defeat the Asalandpeoples. Odin “took up residence at Malar Lake, at a place now called Old Sigtun(Gamla Sigtun)”. He then gave his temple priests large estates in the district.

6. Of Odin’s Accomplishments, “When Odin of Asaland came to the north, and theDiar (gods) with him, they introduced and taught to others the arts which thepeople have long afterwards practiced.” It was Odin who introduced the skaldicarts including singing of great deeds. Also, “People sacrificed to Odin and thetwelve chiefs from Asaland, and called them their gods, and believed in them longafter.” This statement ties in with the archaeological information noted above,with the introduction of Scythian art forms at about this time. It was also Odinwho introduced the new burial practices with cremations and the possessionsburied with the deceased and then the building of a mound over the grave of“renowned men”.

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Snorri goes on to speak of Odin’s death in Sweden, and his cremation, clearly indicatingthat he was mortal. Then comes a recitation of information about the descendants ofOdin whose lineage, via his grandson Frey, came to be known as Ynglinga who were thefounders of Uppsala Dynasty of Sweden and the Vestfold Dynasty in Norway. Howeverthe first 13 generations given by Snorri likely, via a genealogical record, pertain toanother dynastic family since there is a clear indication that the three burial mounds atGamla Uppsala are from the 5th and 6th Centuries, and contain the remains of kings Aun,Egil, and Ottar. Again the dating is off since Snorri indicated that Ottar went on Vikingraids (which did not begin until the late 7th Century), and further the Anglo – Saxon poemtells of Ottar being involved in events at the beginning of the 6th Century, was killed inDenmark, and buried there. As will be seen below, Odin likely died in Sweden about450, so it is here proposed that the three burial mounds above belong to Odin, Aun, andEgil.

A Summary and Some Conclusions Respecting the Sagas

If, and it is a “big if”, these traditions can be taken as a weaving of fact and mythology,then the people who are the ancestors of the Swedish and Norse Dynasties are the Ases, aTurkic Asian people (also known as Asir) from east of the River Don, who resided in thatlocation during Roman Times, and who had as their primary city at that time Asgaard,located somewhere east of the Don and south of the Ural Mountains and possibly atChasgar in the Caucasus Mountains. When Odin and his people left to move north toSweden, apparently with the people on the other side of the River Don with whom theyhad intermarried, he left his two brothers in control of Asgaard. Presumably then thegroup was divided such that one tribal contingent stayed, and if so, then their descendantsmay be still in this area to this day. If all the above conditions can be fulfilled throughfinding a historically documented group that is a close match to that being described bySnorri, then the Norse Sagas will assume a new historical importance – especially if therethe genetic evidence is consistent with the information in the Prose Eddas and theYnglinga Sagas of the Heimskringla.

The Proposed Asir (Ases) of Asia

Archaeology:

In National Geographic (Edwards, 2003) published an analysis of the ornate artifactslocated in a burial mound in the Republic of Tuva in Central Siberia near the Mongolianborder. The archaeological attribution of the finds is to the Scythians, “Nomads andfierce warriors, they lived in Central Asia as early as the nineth century B.C., and theirculture spread westward to southern Russia and Ukraine, and even into Germany, beforegradually disappearing early in the Christian era.” (p. 118) Further, they report that, “AScythian necropolis, the valley that holds this kurgan billows with scores of other burialmounds. Local people call it the Valley of the Tsars, as if the mounds harbored kings,some surely did” (p. 118). The tomb that was excavated dated to the 7th Century BC,replete with jewelry in gold shaped to represent stags, fish, and mythological griffins.“One of the major cultural markers is the depiction of animals in art. Fish tattoos have

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been found on the frozen bodies of Scythians in the so – called Pazyryk burials in theAltay Mountains southwest of Tuva” (p. 126). It appears that the Scythians were alsoearly dwellers near the Black Sea where they flourished in the 4th Century BC, and leftkurgans (tall burial mounds) containing elaborate fish and feline figures and other animalforms in gold. It is here that they apparently met up with the Greek writer Herodotuswho described some of their less savory predilections such as using victim’s skulls asdrinking cups. It is unclear how many tribes made up the Scythians, but their territorywas clearly immense. Their language is unknown for certain, however most scholarsbelieve it was in the Turkic – Altaic family which is spoken in the area today, and west tomodern Turkey.

The Scythian Peoples: A Note about Sources

Unless other wise indicated the material below is from an array of ostensibly well –researched data on the various Scythian peoples found in various sources on the web.These sources are listed in the Reference section under Scythian, then the specific group(e.g., Alans).

Scythian Chronology – While it may be a bit simplistic to attempt to “capture thewind”, since tribal units were constantly shifting and absorbing others, the following is achronology offered by one scholar:

1) Saka – 8th to 3rd Centuries BC.2) Scythian – 7th to 3rd Centuries BC.3) Sauromatrians – Late 7th / early 8th Centuries to 4 th Century BC.4) Early Sarmatians – 4th to 2nd Centuries BC.5) Middle Sarmatians – 2nd Century BC to 2nd Century AD.6) Late Sarmatians – 2nd Century AD t 4th Century AD.

A search for more information on the Scythians (since it is proposed that they are theancestors of an as yet unknown number of Scandinavians) has revealed that literallythousands of archaeological investigations on Scythian sites in a band or swath betweenthe Altai in the east and the Carpathian Mountains in the west. It is beyond the scope ofthis work to document these in detail. They have been described as a, “vigorous nomadpeople with their unique animal art and love of the horse – an extraordinary race fromwhom the civilized world learned to wear trousers and riding horses.” They were renownfor the sheer quantity of gold that adorned their bodies and weapons. Their nomadiclifestyle involved residing in felt tents that, with all their goods, were frequently moved inornately decorated wagons. They used gold decorative adornments for the wagons, theirhorses, and themselves.

History:

The Scythian People Prior to the Emergence of the Huns – Various Hunnishpeoples of Scythian origin have come thundering across the Russian Steepes and into

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Europe in successive waves, following the old “Silk Road” of commerce between westand east.

Historical atlases show the movement of supposed Indo – European speaking peoplesfrom the Ukraine, the purported home of the Kurgan Culture of nomads who revered thehorse, into the Russian Steepes beyond the Caspian and Aral Seas probably long before2750 BC. Then by 1575 BC the “Aryans” moved south into India, and also directly easttoward the Altai. Those east of the Caspian Sea were known as Scyths by 1275 BC, andthe closely connected Cimmerians resided north of the Black Sea. Between 820 BC and670 BC the Scyths had replaced the Cimmerians (who moved south of the Black Sea),and also occupied the shores of the Caspian Sea. Little is known at this time about thepeoples to the Far East, but based on the archaeological evidence it is safe to assume thatthe Scythian empire stretched from the Altai to the Black Sea. There is, however,entirely insufficient evidence to warrant asserting that the ancestors of all the Altaipeoples were Indo – Europeans from the east. The genetic evidence shows that many ofthe peoples in that region are indigenous to Central Asia and that there were likelymovements of people east to west and west to east such that genetic markers from theMiddle East and the Far East also show up in the Altai.

From the viewpoint of physical anthropology, the peoples of Mongolia and China duringthe time periods under discussion may have born scant resemblance to the peoples livingin these regions today. Perhaps the most compelling evidence is the physical appearanceof the “Mummies of the Tarim Basin”. The native people of this region today are theKazaks and more particularly the Uygurs, who are a Turkic – speaking group withEuropoid and Mongoloid features (see later discussion in section on the Huns for moreabout the Uugurs). They reside in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. At the time that theTarim Basin was settled about 2000 BC, the consensus is that they were and Indo –European people who spoke Tocharian, which, according to linguists working with textsdated from the 6th to the 8th Centuries, was “”Proto – Celtic” as were the people whowrote them. Kimball – Davis, a well – know archaeologist of the region speaks also ofthe grave goods found with the Tarim mummies (circa 2000 to 500 BC) including clothwhose “patterns, colors, and weave mimic those of modern Scottish tartans” (p. 149).Kimball - Davis reports that the physical features of these people who had arrived in theTarim Basin about 2000 BC are decidedly “European – like” (e.g., p. 144), includingtheir stature, up to 6 foot 6 inches in a male, and 6 feet tall in a woman; and “plaitedreddish – brown hair” (p. 151). These well preserved bodies from the Tarim Basin werethe subject of a Nova documentary entitled, “Mysterious Mummies of China” (p. 153).Further evidence as to what these people may have looked like in life is found in on thewalls of caves in the nearby foothills west of Korla where the art shows men with blue orgreen eyes with red or blond hair and beards and dressed in a manner similar to theSassanians of Iran. The inscriptions in the caves are in Tocharian. Descriptions of thepeople residing in this region are available from Chinese sources as reported by Kimball– Davis and others. The upshot is that the people being described, who were residing onthe steppes and known as Alans and Sarmatians (for example), appear to be mixed (withsome Mongolian features). However, it would appear that they might have been largelyindistinguishable from Scandinavians of today.

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By 600 BC the Medes had driven the Scythians back east to the Pontic Steepes south ofthe Black Sea. A short time later, in 514 BC, the Persian King Darius decided to invadethe homeland of the Scythians but failed since the Scythians merely retreated leavingnothing to destroy. Thus there was a movement to the west after this event, and by the 3rd

Century BC these people were installed between the Don and Danube Rivers. Therewere distinct groups of Scythians at this time, largely based on how sedentary they were.The Royal families of the Scythians were true nomads, and their homeland was theSteepes of the Azov Sea and both banks of the Dnieper River. Also at this time thenomadic Scythians also occupied the Altai Region of Siberia near the Mongolian border.They were known as the Kindred Scythians or the Eastern Scythians. It is these peoplewho would later move west to displace their cousins in the area of the Black Sea.

It is among the latter groups from the Altai whence came the Sarmatians, a Scythianpeople who by 415 BC were resident east of the Don River and north of the Caspian Sea.By 192 BC this group had crossed the Don and drove the Scyths to the Danube Delta andthe Crimea.

By 145 BC the Sarmatians had divided into the Alans, the Roxolani, and furthest west theJazyges located between the Dnieper and Don Rivers. When 79 AD dawned, all threegroups had pushed west, with the Jazyges finding a home on the Hungarian Steepes. Atabout the same time the Goths were moving from southern Sweden to begin a relentlessdrive southward. By the year 230 the Jazyges were surrounded by various Germanictribes, with their closest neighbors being the Vandals. The Roxalani were installedbetween the Don and Dneiper Rivers, with the Alans immediately east of the Don Riverand from the Black Sea to the northern quarter of the Caspian Sea. Also, at this time theGoths had carved out a large territory along both sides of the Danube River and to thenorth of the Black Sea. By 305 they had completely absorbed the territory of theRoxolani (and likely the people themselves), the middle group of Scythian Sarmatians,and bringing them into contact with the Alans, the upper most group of Sarmatians at theRiver Don. As early as 268 Byzantine sources recorded that huge fleets of pirates (up to2000 ships) were manned by Sarmatians and / or Goths and were practicing the “art” ofpiracy; thus their raiding could be via horse of ship clearly providing them with moreoptions. This habit may have been kept alive until the dawn of the Viking – Age.However, the age of the Huns, distant cousins to those peoples, was about to arrive.

The above information was presented in some detail since it is likely that the group thatmade its way to Scandinavia in the 5th Century was a mélange, composed of Alans, Huns,and Goths. However, before examining the dramatic incursions that brought the Huns tothe doorstep of the Alans, also known as Ases to Turkic peoples and the Wu Sun to theChinese scribes (see also Bachrach, 1973), it is important to explore how a Scandinaviagroup with roots in Sweden came to reside as far east as the Don River creating aninterface between peoples of very different origins.

The Ostrogoths and Huns

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A Note about Sources - Unless otherwise indicated, the following material is fromon-line sources listed in the Reference section under Goths and Scythians respectively.In addition many of the facts about the Goths are from Heather (1998), and those relatingto the Huns from Thompson (1948), both sources being part of “The Peoples of Europe”series.

The Ostrogoths – Reference to available atlases (“The New Penguin Atlas ofAncient History” (McEvedy, 2002) and “The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History”(McEvedy, 2002) indicate the movement of Indo – European peoples from the Balkansand the Black Sea into Denmark, Southern Sweden, and Eastern Norway by 5500 BC.By 2750 BC there appears to be an expansion to South Western Norway by a groupknown as East Indo – Europeans, and by 2250 BC as “Germanics”. A virtually identicaldistribution is seen in the era leading up to 14 AD when there was a southward expansionas the Roman Empire began to engulf adjacent regions, and a group known as the Gothsappeared on the shores of the Baltic south of Sweden. Contemporary sources (Jordanes,Cassiodorus and Ablabius) agree that this group originated in Scandinavia and hadcrossed the sea to what is today Poland.

Archaeological evidence shows that this group used burial practices similar to those inScandinavia, namely burials within stone circles - as opposed to Scythians who buriedtheir dead under kurgans (mounds). This fact will assume some importance when the 5th

Century Swedish sites are discussed. Their progress is reflected archaeologically in theWeilbark cultural traditions in the northern reaches of their territory and the Cernjachovculture along the hinterland of the Black Sea. It appears that as the Goths reached theBlack Sea, and occupied the area between the Danube and the Don, absorbing the culturalpractices of the Scythians (e.g., reliance on the horse).

By 230 AD the Goths had moved far south to the shores of the Black Sea to the landsformerly occupied by the Sythians (who disappear as a distinct entity at this time). Totheir immediate north, along the Danube are the Vandals (noted in the Heimskringla). By305 the Goths had divided into Ostrogoths in the east, and Visigoths in the west – withthe Vandals moving further north and west. It is also at this time that the peoples ofScandinavia are named with the Danes occupying the eastern part of what is todayDenmark and also southern Sweden. North of them were the Getes, then the Swedes; andto the west were the Norse.

By 362 the Roman Empire was at its zenith. The “barbarian” hordes that included theOstrogoths were, however, nipping at the flanks of the Empire. At this time theOstrogothic Empire stretched from southern Sweden in a corridor south on both sides ofthe River Wista in Poland to the Crimea on the Black Sea and east to the Don River.These descendants of the Swedish Goths had adopted the horse – centered lifestyle oftheir neighbors, and thus were culturally indistinguishable from the Asiatics. Meanwhilethe Alans occupied a triangle of land wedged between the Black and Caspian Seas southof the Don River to the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian Sea where Azerbaijan istoday, with the Ostrogoths to the north along the west bend of the Don, and immediately

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across the River to the east were the Huns, who had “materialized” rapidly to pressagainst both peoples. It was a formula ripe for combustion.

One of the difficulties, which may not be resolvable, is the nomenclature issuessurrounding the various Germanic tribes in the area. In particular there was a groupnoted occasionally in the writings of the early scholars and known as the Heruls, Heruli,Eruli and so on. It is entirely unclear as to whether these myseterious people were a tribalunit on their own, or this was merely a term meaning “young warriors” and relating tounits of the Ostrogoths. There is a very thorough study of “The Heruls” by Troels Brandt(2004) that is 106 webpages in length (www.geocities.com/troels_brandt/heruleng.html)with copious references to original sources (e.g., Byzantine scholars). To the presentauthor there does not seem to be a clear difference between the Heruls and the EasternOstrogoths, particularly since Brandt acknowledges that the first record for the Heruls isin the swampy area along the Sea of Azov where others place the Goths, but this is amatter that could be debated at length. Brandt acknowledges that the Heruls were likelyan amalgam including Sarmatian Alans, and Goths.

What is most critical here is to realize that in 553AD, the scholar Procopius, subsequentto interviewing many with knowledge of the matter, wrote his history of the Gothic Wars.Procopius wrote that sometime prior to 494AD a contingent of the Herul – Goths (likelymixed with, or led by Alanic/Hunnish elements) went to Illeria where they suffereddefeat and many were killed by the Romans however before this the bulk of the peoplewere led by members of the Royal Family back to Thule (i.e., the ScandinavianPenninsula). Clearly, unless this well - known historian of Classical Times was wrong,then the stories of Snorri (who was unlikely to have access to this source) fit perfectlywith this 5th Century movement of the mixed peoples of the Black Sea area north toScandinavia. Even the trip north through the territory of the Slavs (Russians) and theDanes is described as it is by Snorri – particularly the fact that they met with no hostileresistance all the way to Sweden (which, unless the group was composed of anintimidating force of warriors does not seem reasonable).

The Huns – A background to the Hunnic peoples of Central and East Asia hasbeen provided above. As to the Huns themselves, the specifics are elusive, and generalagreement as to origins is not obtainable. One popular history, “The Huns”, part of “ThePeoples of Europe” series, omits any discussion of the ancestral roots of the Huns.However, it appears that the most likely background, expressed chronologically, largelyvia Chinese and Russian writers is as follows:

318 BC. Chinese records note the Xiong Nu, Asiatic Turkish speaking Huns whoseempire constantly attacked the Qin Chinese who in turn as a defensive measure built theGreat Wall of China. Their raiding also took them into the Altai.200 BC. Dou Man unites the nomadic tribes and gains control of the “Silk Road”, andsubjugates the Han Dynasty of China.121 BC. China defeats the Xiong Nu, who had by then brought numerous Central Asianpeoples under their control.

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55 BC. Factionalism and internal revolts cause a major split into the eastern (southern)horde who is under the control of the Chinese; and the western horde begin a westwardmigration. At this point the Xiong Nu cease to exist as a recognizable entity.50 BC. The western faction reached the Volga River and the Aral Sea where they remainfor a considerable time and the history of merges and splits in the group is not apparent(likely due to their now considerable distance from China).350 AD. The remenants of the Xiong Nu, now known as Huns, were are the gates ofEurope in the Ukraine, on the east bank of the Don River.376 AD. The united forces of the Huns crossed the Don, and subjugated the Ostrogothsall the way to the Danube; and in the year 395 the Hun forces also crossed the CaucasusMountains and laid waste to Armenia, penetrating as far as Edessa in Syria. By 406 theHuns were in control of the former territory of the Alans south to Azerbaijan.

It is unfortunate that of all peoples, especially those who have put their stamp sovigorously on Europe, there is a paucity of historical documentation and even lessarchaeological material pertaining to the Huns. One of the reasons why the Huns have anair of mystery about them is that they were almost certainly an amalgam of peoples – aconfederation rather than a single entity. The “Hun army” would only be composed of anunknown percentage of the Xiong Nu descendants. Work at the University of Sofia hasdetermined that among the confederacy circa 370 AD were the Bulgars, who had movedfrom the steppes to Armenia in the Caucasus after 45 AD. The leader of these proto –Bulgars was one Vanand, and the whole region took its name from this leader (Dimitrov,1998). Again this name takes on significance in the sagas told by Snorri who mentions adecisive battle between the Vanaland people and Odin’s people. Thus until thedissolution of the Hun Empire circa 453 AD the word Hun may have been somewhatgeneric. But without a doubt the leadership or aristocracy was true Hun – Atilla and hispredecessors. The leaders of the “true Huns” were of the Dulo clan of the Utigurs tribe –to which Atilla belonged. It is also the Uygurs who are considered to be the descendantsof the people represented by the Tarim Basin Mummies of Xinjiang Province in China(Thornton & Schurr, 2004). Referring back to an earlier discussion of the Scythianpeoples of the steppes, the Uygurs were noted as the probable founders of the Huns, andthere is evidence that they (the Huns) still continued to exist and maintain control afterthe death of Atilla by merging with the Avars and Bulgars, with the leader of the latterbeing Khan Kubrat (died 651 AD).

Uldin – It would be difficult not to notice the similarity between the name of theHunnic “king”, and the name of the Asian leader of the Norse Sagas named Odin. Odinis characterized as a great warrior who won many battles upon crossing the River Don.The historic Uldin was considered by some authors to be the man who united the Hunsand led them to their decisive victory over the (Eastern) Ostrogoths who became subjectsof the Huns. The link between the Goths and the Huns is reflected in their joint campaign(possibly led by Uldin) against Adrianople where two thirds of the army of 80,000 menand the Emperor Valens were destroyed on 9 August 378. In 400 a German rebel namedGainas incurred the wrath of Uldin who, with some considerable effort, finally managedto beat the forces of his opponent, and Uldin sent the slain man’s head to Constantinopleon 3 January 401 to be displayed - with the demand that he be paid “gifts”, thereby

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sealing a treaty with the Eastern Romans. This historical record bears some similarity tothe Odin from the Sagas whose story is tied in with the severed head of a man. It isunclear as to how many men went around holding the severed head of another, but thisoverlap does help to tie Odin to Uldin. In 405 Uldin was called upon by West Rome toassist in eradicating Radagaisus and a large contingent of Germans, and in the Battle ofFaesulae in Italy in 405 Uldin’s cavalry made swift work of the Germans. In 406 theOstrogoths formed a coalition with other Germanic - Scandinavian tribes (e.g., Vandals,Suevi), which also “included a clan of Alans displaced from the Caucasus” (p. 12). In 408Uldin crossed the Danube and laid waste to Thrace, but through bribes to his followers,the Roman officer was able to get many to desert with the result that Uldin was forced tocross back over the Danube with a much weakened force. The contact between the Hunsand the Goths is possibly reflected in the observation that the songs sung by the Huns atthe time of Attila were in Goth, and followed Goth conventions. It has also been reportedthat at this time Goths would take Hun names by which they were known in theircommunity; and other authors state that Huns were in the habit of taking Goth names.Either way it appears that there was a solid link between the two peoples whose lifestyleand culture at the time did not differ in any significant way. This sets the stage for amerging of the two such that both came to revere the horse; and both were masters ofoccupying their time by acts of piracy using boats to raid along the Black Sea (from the3rd Century AD). This propensity may have set the stage for the similar raiding thatwould be characteristic of their apparent descendants – only the venue was different – theAtlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea and beyond.

After 408 Uldin, the first Hun to be mentioned by name in the chronicles of the daydisappears from the historical record, and we know that his successors in 412 wereDonatus and Charato (perhaps the two brothers of Odin mentioned in the Sagas).According to the thesis put forward here, Uldin / Odin appears in Sweden a few yearslater with his Hun – Alan followers and remenants of the Ostrogoths to negotiate withKing Gefir prior to taking up residence at Sigtun on Lake Malar.

It is interesting that Jordanes reported that the Heruls (which might be a generic term fora very mixed group) were acting as pirates along the French and Spanish coasts in 409,450 and 459. It can only be guessed whether the first raid was a little diversion whileenroute to Scandinavia; while the others were conducted after the community had settledin Gamla Uppsala and Southern Norway. It is possible, however that this was an entirelyindependent group of Heruls.

Thor Heyerall: The Hunt for Odin

In the midst of preparing the present study, the Resource Coordinator of the ShetlandIslands Y-DNA Surname Project informed the author that, “A few years ago whilevisiting Fosnavag in Norway, I attended a talk given by the famous adventurer, ThorHeyerdahl. He raised the question, why are northern Europeans called Caucasian? Hehad read Snorri Sturluson’s Edda and decided to investigate for himself. He explored themountainous region, and in the south of Russia found a legend of a group of people, whoin the long distant past, had emigrated to the northern areas of Europe. He found that

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their leader was a man called Odin. His visit was, of course, to the Caucasus Mountains.He brought back with him to Norway a group of musicians from that area who performedafter his talk” (E. Morewood, personal communication, 2004).

An Internet search confirmed that indeed this project was one of the last undertaken (butnot finished) by Dr. Heyerdahl prior to his death in 2002. He wrote a book in Norwegiancalled “Jakten pa Odin” which was supposed to be translated into English by November2002, but apparently has not been done so up to the time of this writing. What can begleaned via the Internet indicates that he concentrated his archaeological explorations inthe region where the Don empties into the Sea of Azov. It appears that Dr. Heyerdahlconcluded that the Ases emigrated around 63 AD, and he found traces of a comtemporarycivilization in the area.

What is very interesting for the purposes of the present study is that Dr. Heyerdahllocated a people called “Odin-People” (Ossetians) residing in what is today Azerbaijan,who he said consider themselves descendants of the same people who migrated toScandinavia long ago.

What compelled Dr. Heyerdahl to investigate the matter was apparently the similarity ofthe word Azov to the place called by Snorri “Ashov (read as As-hov)” the site of tribalsacrifices. This prompted a joint Norwegian – Swedish and Russian archaeologicalproject that began in 2001. A research center was set up in England, and after the deathof Dr. Heyerdahl, has set as its mission to continue the work in Azov and the Caucasus.

While the entire contents of the book may not be available to the present author, a verycomprehensive book review translated from Norwegian is. A team of scholars examinedthe contents of the book and, to say the least, found it woefully lacking in just aboutevery category. They paint Thor Heyerdahl as a sensation seeking pseudo – scientistwhose claimed doctorate cannot be verified. Apparently Heyerdahl and Lilliestrom usehighly selected evidence and ignore anything that might not fit their preconceived bias.Some very serious examples include the following. The reviewers state that the “Odin –People” identified by Heyerdahl in Azerbaijan have never used that name to refer tothemselves, they take extensive liberties with linguistic “evidence”, the “Vannic” peopledid not exist at the time of Snorri, let alone live on the shores of Lake Van in Turkey(which in turn did not become a country until modern times), and the Troy from whichOdin allegedly departed, according to Heyerdahl, was not even identified with a specificlocation until the last century. Then there is the archaeology where the artifactsassembled to support their case show no continuity in the materials in the 1st CenturyAzov and Scandinavia. Furthermore, Heyerdahl and Lilliestrom point to the cremationburials at Uppsala to support their argument – but these sites have been dated to the 5th

and 6th Centuries. As to the similarities of the folk music between the two regions,apparently the expert Scandinavian folk musician cited by the authors wrote a press –release where he refuted the way that his views had been expressed in “The Hunt forOdin”. Also, apparently other authors have investigated the subject, such as the Russianauthor Vladimir Sjerbakov and the Scandinavian Stein Jarving, but neither were givencredit by Heyerdahl and Lilliestrom. The reviewers conclude that, “The book is a gold –

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mine to those interested in research ethics. To anyone with a love for juicy errors andhilarious anachronyms, H and L provide a good read.”

Linguistic Evidence

Linguists are separated into two camps in relation to all Indo – European languages. Onegroup believes that about 6,000 years ago horse mounted invading clans of Kurgan tribesfrom the Ukraine and spread Indo – European languages to Central Asia, the Indian sub –continent, and eventually to Europe. The other camp is of the opinion that the megalanguage family emerged in Neolithic Anatolia (Turkey) and spread with agriculturalinnovations. A recent article in Nature (Gray and Atkinson, 2004) cites new evidence insupport of the “plow” theory” over the “sword” theory. Their calculations point to a9,800 to 7,800 BC expansion. This “glottochronology” evidence supports the “Anatolianfarming” rather than the “Kurgan expansion” theory. However, in essence, it is unknownwhether the peoples of this region spoke Indo – European or Turkic languages.

It is important, however, to assess the language family derivation of certain words relatedto the thesis of this study. For example, Russian linguists report that Ases is a Turkicword. A very thorough discussion of the subject with detailed references is found on-linein an article entitled, “Who are the Alans” as part of a more comprehensive exploration ofthe Tartar Nation. Here it is recorded that Bartold (1963) noted that “the word As withall its phonetical variations in the designation of the Turkic – speaking peoples wasapplied very widely, and in parallel with a word er (ir-ar). Apparently, in antiquity manyWestern peoples also quite actively used the ethnonym “As” for Eastern peoples. So, “inScandinavian mythology Ases was the name for the main group of gods, and at the sametime it was stated that the Ases came from Asia, hinting at the identity of the word Asesand Asia.” A Turkic people of Central Asia (possible descendants of the Huns) who werenoted in the section on genetics have been known, since at least the 7th Century, as bothKirghiz and Ases. The Alans were also known by this name.

Among the present day tribal peoples of Central Asia to be “candidates” for the Aseir(although there was doubtless more than one tribal group considering the mélange alongthe Silk Road in Roman Times), are the Uygur of Xinjiang in China and nearby Siberia –nomads who could be found anywhere along the steppes between Mongolia and theCaspian Sea depending on the timeframe. Greek and Iranian sources noted their presencecirca 300 BC. At about the time of Christ the Uygurs held sway over an extensiveempire. Although not entirely clear, it appears that the Uygurs were descendants of theHuns. Hun may be but one name for these people. Their original name, as far as thedocumentary sources can tell us, was the Dingling nomadic tribe. The name is interestingin relation to the ruling dynasty of the Aseir – the Yngling Dynasty of Scandinavia. Itcould be a coincidence, but the phonetic juxtaposition leads one to the obviousconclusion that there is no need for any force fit to see them as identical – especiallyconsidering the changes one would expect due to the evolution of the language and theuse of a “foreign” word by non – native speakers (recall how “Route du Roi” became“Rotten Row” when filtered through English ears).

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The word Azir in Persian means “fire” and in Turkic the meaning is “high”. Thus theAzir, known as Azeri from Azerbaijan bear a remarkable phonetic resemblance to theAsir noted by Snorri in the Norse Sagas. This fact takes on a more compellingsignificance when the genetic findings are recalled. Many of the names of placesmentioned in the land of the Ases appear to the untrained ear to be Persian, and othersTurkic. It will require an in depth investigation of each word to shed further light on thematter, and then to be able to tie each (if possible) to known cities existing today, or inthe past.

Recalling back to the archaeological and historical evidence discussed above, it wasnoted that the Heruls and their associates (e.g., Huns) were thought to have begun newdynasties in Scandinavia beginning circa 450 AD. Sigurdsson has reported in the Norse– Icelandic Sagas that the men from Asia became the aristocrats of Sweden and Norway.It may be of significance that the linguistic evidence seen in the rune stones (“ErilaR-runes”) dated to this time in Scandinavia (the earliest are 4 from Sweden and 5 fromNorway, and the earliest of these dated to the 5th Century), and thought to be connectedwith the Wolthan Cult arriving from the south, often contain the word “Eruli”, which isanother variant of Herul. Rune stones, with essentially the same script, has been foundon items such as a silver bowl in a Saka – Sarmatian grave circa 400 BC,indistinguishable, according to Kimball – Davis, from their Germanic counterparts.Artuns (1994) provides evidence that the rune stones of Norway have their origins in theMiddle East.

The linguist Ellegaard (1987) has reported that he believes that there is a “very probable”connection between the word Eruli and Eorl/Jarl, in other words the Earls ofScandinavian society. Procopius has described the trip of a Scandinavia Herul RoyalFamily member, long after the first arrival to Scandinavia (during Justinian times) toIllyria to replace a dead family member from the Danube region. Therefore it is clearthat there was a recognized Royal Family in Scandinavia in the 6 th Century (548 AD)whose roots are among the migrants northward a century previous. Here the linguistic,archaeological and historical evidence all point clearly in the same direction.

Genetic Evidence

Ancient DNA Samples:

The most “ideal” source of evidence would be a large world – wide database of datedarchaeological samples where each had been analyzed with the tests commonly usedtoday in population genetics and genealogical studies. Here the ancient ScandinavianDNA samples could be compared to diverse groups to see if, for example, there are clearsimilarities between some Swedish and Norwegian samples, and those from ancientsamples from Central Asia or regions of the “Silk Road” route between east and west.

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It is unfortunate that to date, not a single study has yet reported sequencing Y-DNA froma Viking – Era archaeological site. The situation with respect to Central Asia is onlymoderately better. A current study by Ricault et al. in Human Biology (2004) reports onthe DNA analysis of two skeletons entombed in ice at the Sebystei Site in the AltaiRepublic site (circa 500 BC) who were of the Scytho – Siberian culture. AutosomalSTRs (short tandem repeats) and the mitochondiral DNA of the direct maternal lineagewas Asian, with some suggestion of likely Mongolian and East Asian origins. Themitochondrial haplgroups D and F observed in this study are still commonly found inpopulations of this region. One can only hope that with technological innovations thatthe Y chromosome will at some point be able to provide the haplogroup (e.g., R1a1, Q)and the haplotype of the male sample (see below for the definitions and a discussion ofthe terminology here).

Alas, it is very unfortunate that the Y chromosome is relatively unstable and may not berecovered from samples from 20 years ago, let along 2000 year – old specimens. Animportant step in this direction, and the only know study of its kind, is the work ofKeyser – Tracqui et al. (2003). They investigated the mtDNA (female lineage) of 46skeletons from the 2000 year - old cemetery located in the Egyin Gol Valley ofMongolia; and in addition were able to sequence up to 10 YSTR (male lineage) markersin a sample of 27. The details of this study will be discussed later.

Y Chromosome DNA Markers:

Through an examination of sets of two types of genetic indicators on the Y chromosomeof males, it is possible to track population movements, and examine the biologicalrelationship between two or more population groups. The first are SNPs (SingleNucleotide Polymorphism) changes that occur only once in thousands of years and alldescendants of the man who first experienced this mutation (e.g., a change in a nucleotidebase pair from a Cytosine to a Adenine at a recognized location on the chromosome) willcontinue to carry this mutation. These are known as binary markers. For example at alocus on the Y - chromosome a change from one base pair to another, at the locationwhere marker M242 is situated, that occurred in a man who was destined to be theancestor of all haplogroup Q males. The ancestor of R1a1 had a mutation (actually adeletion of one base pair) thousands of years ago (the debate rages as to the exact timingas will be noted later) at a marker site known as M17. His descendants to this day willcarry this variation (or polymorphism). This will provide us with what are known ashaplogroups, which are relatively few in number (e.g., Jobling et al., 2004). For examplemost males in County Connaught, Ireland belong to a haplogroup known as R1b1c(M269) – most common among Insular Celtic as well as Basque peoples (e.g., Hill et al.,2000) and decreasing in percentage in a cline from west to east to the point where itbecomes rare beyond Poland (e.g., Semino et al., 2000). There are haplogroups that arecharacteristic of Western Europe (e.g., R1b1c) and East Asia (e.g., C3c) with very littleoverlap (although more so the former than the latter), plus others that are foundthroughout Eurasia but may vary according to some of the specifics of their “signature”,as noted next.

23

A second type of informative marker is the pattern or signature of alleles in the form ofrepeats in the “junk DNA” part of the Y chromosome, and each is known as amicrosatellite. It is typical to use between 2 and 37 loci on the Y chromosome and, usingDNA amplification and sequencing techniques, count the number of repeats as shown asthe height of a peak on an elecrophoresis printout (a photographic – like paper containingthe DNA with a radioactive tag which has been exposed to an electrical field). There willbe much more variability here such that, concerning the R1a haplogroup noted above, allmales in this grouping will have slightly different haplotypes, meaning allele “scores” ateach of the, for example, 37 markers – unless individuals are closely related. Themarkers are in the form of DYS (DNA Y chromosome Short Tandem Repeat) numbers sothat one man may have DYS390 = 23 and another 25, residing in the same village, andnot be related in recent times, only 10,000 or so years ago when they shared a commonancestor at the time of the Last Glacial Maximum. Haplotype patterns of scores, evenwithin the same haplogroup, are correlated with geography such that for example aCentral Asian modal R1a haplotype will differ from that seen in Eastern Europe. Theremay even be differences between two proximal tribal groups suggesting that they do notshare a recent ancestral connection (e.g., Rosser et al., 2000).

Some Major Relevant European and Asian Haplogroups:

There are major nomenclature issues in relation to the haplogroups of the world. Whatfollows are the names most commonly used in the most recent literature. The YCC (YChromosome Consortium) attempted to standardize the highly variable nomenclature thathas appeared in the literature over the years. Since this group appears to be defunct, in2006 the International Society of Genetic Genealogists (ISOGG) assembled a team ofexperts and established a Y – chromosome phylogentic chart that is constantly updated asnew information is made available. The following descriptions are adapted from the dataavailable at www.isogg.org.

R1b1c: Haplogroup R1b is the most common haplogroup in Northern Europeanpopulations. It is defined by the M173 plus P25 / M269 (plus the upstream M45) thatoriginated in Central Asia or enroute to Western Europe about 30,000 years ago. It isbelieved to have expanded throughout Europe as humans re-colonized after the LastGlacial Maximum (LGM) 10-12 thousand years ago during which time they had beenensconced in the Franco – Cantabrian refugium. It decreases in a cline from west (e.g.,Ireland) to east (e.g., Poland). This lineage is also the haplogroup containing the Atlanticmodal haplotype. Varieties such as R1b1c6 (M167) originated in Iberia, and R1b1c7(M222) in Ireland (“Ui Neill”). R1b1c9 (S21) is a North Germanic – Scandinavianmarker; while R1b1c10 (S28) is associated with the distribution of La Tene Celticpeoples (with a focus in the Alpine region of Central Europe) with outliers in Jutland andSoutheast Norway. Depending on the study, about 25% of males in Norway and Swedenare within the R1b1c category.

I: The I1a (M253) lineage is largely restricted to Northwestern Europe. This is acommon lineage among Germanic speakers and would most likely have been common

24

within Viking populations. The defining marker is M170. One lineage of this group I1b1(P37) extends down into central Europe (the Balkans). It is believed that the entire “I”group (including I1b2 / M223) “over wintered” in the Balkans until the end of the LGM –although there could have been pockets located elsewhere. Seldom are the latter twofound in Scandinavia where the I1a haplogroup is seen in about 40% of males.

R1a1: Until recently the assumption was that the R1a lineage originated in the EurasianSteppes north of the Black and Caspian Seas, among those of the Kurgan culture, andspread, with their culture dependent on the horse and their Indo – European language tothe east and south. This lineage (defined by a nucleotide deletion mutation at M17 and aback mutation at SRY1031.2 downstream from the general M173 R division) has a widevariety of estimates as to when it emerged. For example the interval of 3000 – 1000years BC via the Kurgan Culture to spread from its supposed origin in the Ukraine toCentral Asian and India is suggested by for example Passarino et al., 2001 which iswildly divergent from the circa 15,000 years before present asserted by for exampleZerjal et al., 1999. This lineage is currently found in Central and Western Asia as far eastas Mongolia, south into Sri – Lanka and India, and west as the predominant haplogroupof the Slavic populations of Eastern Europe. It is generally believed that this group foundrefuge on the Ukranian steepes at the time of the LGM and expanded from there.Another viewpoint is that the haplogroup originated in Northern Pakistan (where thediversity is highest) and this was the location of a glacial refugium for at least someR1a1. The percentage typically found in Norway and Sweden is about 20%, and is theone haplogroup that, if found in Britain, is almost certainly attributable to the presence ofthe Vikings.

Q: The Q lineage links Asia and the Americas. It is found in North and Central Asianpopulations. This lineage is believed to have originated in Central Asia and migratedthrough the Altai / Baikal region of northern Central Asia and descendants with a M3mutation moved into the Americas. The Asian defining markers are M45 and M242 (alsoshared with some Native Americans). In Scandinavia north of Denmark haplogroup Q isfound in less than 8% of the male population.

C3: The C3 lineage is believed to have originated in Southeast or Central Asia, and hasbeen determined to be the haplogroup of the descendants of Genghis Khan. This lineagethen spread into Northern Asia, and then to a limited degree into the Americas. It hasvery seldom been seen in samples from Europe, other than in 1% of Hungarians; and lessthan half a dozen who are haplogroup C* (marker RPS4Y) or C3c (M217 / M86) seen inScotland and England but no indication of any association with the Vikings as thishaplogroup has not been observed to date in Scandinavia.

K: The K lineage is an old lineage presently found only at low frequencies in Africa,Asia, and in the south Pacific. One descendent line of this lineage is restricted toaboriginal Australians, while another is found at low frequency in Southern Europe,Northern Africa, and the Middle East, but at higher levels in Central Asia and the

25

Caucasus. Most of the haplogroup K are probably K2 (M70). It is a rare haplogroupanywhere in Northern Europe and is seen only in trace amounts.

N: This haplogroup is distributed throughout Northern Eurasia. It is the most commonY-chromosome type in Uralic speakers (Finns and Hungarians). This lineage most likelyoriginated in northern China or Mongolia and then spread into Siberia where it became avery common line in western Siberia. Most carriers of the haplogroup will be M178 orN3. It is unlikely that N3 was found in Viking communities in Scandinavia since it israre to absent in any samples from colonies settled by the Vikings.

G: This haplogroup appears to have first emerged about 30,000 years ago in the regionof the Middle East, or perhaps further east in the Himalayan foothills of Pakistan orIndia. The haplogroup has relatively few descendants and is widely dispersed - fromSoutheast Asia and the Pacific Islands, but with the largest concentration in the MiddleEast, and also observed scattered around the Mediterranean and into Turkey, the Balkansand the Caucasus Mountains (a “hot spot” at about 30%). In Europe the frequency isgenerally no more than 3% but found occasionally in most countries in Europe(sometimes at higher levels such as 14% in Sardinia). G is seen more frequently inCentral Asia (e.g., Uzbekistan and Mongolia). The G2 lineage is defined by P15. It isseen in scattered contexts in some locations in Sweden.

The above are the haplogroups that potentially might be found in both Central Asians andtheir proposed kin in Scandinavia. The focus of the present study will be on R1a, Q andK since they have been found in the Shetland Islands Y-DNA Database(www.davidkfaux.org/shetlandislandsY-DNA.html), are found in sufficient numbers inCentral Asia to show up frequently in databases there, and there is in general sufficientdata in the literature to be able to make direct comparisons. Unfortunately this is not sowith haplogroup C3 where its documented presence in Europe is extremely low. Thesame situation prevails with haplogroups N3 and G2, found in small Scandinavian“enclaves”, but as yet not observed in the Scandinavian colonies – with the exception ofone N3 in Helgason’s (2000) study noted elsewhere.

What is of interest here are the haplogroups shared between Scandinavia and CentralAsia that might reasonably be expected to reflect a biological link between the twopeoples.

Haplogroup Percentages in Selected Eurasian Populations

Below is a listing of the percentages of each of the above haplogroups found in countriesfrom Ireland to Mongolia. These two end point countries are noted here since they are atthe extreme end of the European – Asian corridor. What will be readily apparent is thatnone of the haplogroups of interest occur west of Eastern Germany, thus our search mustbe to the south and to the east. In the table below, a zero means that the haplogroup wastyped in the study but not found in that population. A dash (-) means that there is noevidence that the authors searched for the haplogroup via SNP testing. The bracketaround the 7% of Q in the Iceland is explained below. The manner of typing for R1b and

26

Q in many if not most studies of Europe (often using the super class of P which lumpsboth together) is a chronic problem, and has meant that otherwise interesting studies (e.g.,“Y Chromosomes of Eastern Ukrainians” by Kharkov et al., 2004) are or marginal use.In addition they, and other authors, cluster haplogroups I and J together, when typically itis imperative parse them (I is characteristic of Germanic countries and J of the MiddleEastern region).

The data, expressed in percentages, is from published studies and private databaseswhich, being private, may not be individually identified.

Haplo R1b I R1a J E Q C K N3Region / Country

Europe

Ireland (N=207) 81 15 1 1 2 - - 0 1Faroe Islands (N=89) 27 19 52 - - - - 2 -Iceland (N=181) 34 34 24 - - (7) - - 1Orkney (a) (N=26)

Orkney (b) (N=121)

65

63

08

15

27

19

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

-

0

0

0

0Shetland (a) (N=63)

Shetland (b) (N=38)

Shetland (c) (N=35)

(Aboriginal Surnames)

66

53

40

10

11

23

23

29

29

0

0

0

0

0

0

-

8

3

-

0

0

1

0

3

0

0

0

Norway (a) (N=52)

Norway (b) (N=201)

Norway (c) (N=72)

Norway (d) N=83)

29

30

29

27

33

28

40

45

31

34

24

22

2

0

-

2

2

0

-

1

-

4

0

-

-

-

0

-

0

0

1

0

4

1

7

4

Sweden (a) (N=116)

Sweden (b) (N=141)

20

22

54

48

17

18

1

-

0

-

-

0

-

0

1

-

7

3Saami (a) (N=24)

Saami (b) (N=127)

Saami (c) (N=48)

8

4

6

42

26

31

8

11

21

0

-

0

0

-

0

0

0

-

0

0

0

0

-

0

42

48

42

27

Denmark (a) (N=194)

Denmark (b) (N=190)

36

39

39

39

17

12

-

3

-

3

0

0

0

-

-

0

1

2Hungary (a) (N=45)

Hungary (b) (N=113)

13

-

11

-

60

-

2

-

9

-

0

3

0

1

0

-

0

-

Asia (West to East)

Turkey (a) (N=523) 14 5 7 33 11 2 7 2 1Turkey (b) (N=30) 7 3 7 40 13 3 0 3 3Uzbeks (N=28) 0 0 32 21 0 21 18 4 0Azeri (N=19) 0 0 5 58 5 16 0 5 0Tajiks (N=22) 0 0 64 9 0 9 14 0 0Dungans (N=22) 0 0 14 18 0 27 9 27 5Kyrgyz (a) (N=52) 2 0 63 2 2 2 8+ 2 -Kyrgyz (b) (N=41) 0 0 63 5 0 5 22 2 2Altains (a) (N=29) - - 55 - 3 7 24 10 0Altains (b) (N=98) 0 0 47 - - 17 22 - 1Tuvini (N=42) 2 0 14 0 0 17 10+ 26 0Uygurs (N=68) 18 0 22 10 0 4 7 10 0Mongolians (N=65) 0 0 9 3 0 5 57 12 8

Some interesting patterns emerge here in relation to the haplogroups of interest to thepresent study.

Considering Norway, it is clear that the three major haplogroups are R1b, I, and R1a, andthat they occur at about 30% each – in other words are found in equal proportions. Thereare, however, a restricted number of other haplogroups that make a minor appearance.Both J and E1b in Northern Europe are considered to reflect the Neolithic expansion ofagrarianism from the Middle East. In other words they have probably been in Norwayfor thousands of years. N3, while being found at rates up to 7% in Norway and Swedenis problematic to interpret.

Haplogroup N3 (also known as Tat) is found very infrequently in Norse colonies andcould have come via East Asia (where it reaches levels of 28% in some tribal groups suchas the Buryats; but 0% in their Altai neighbours). It is also found at up to 10% in EasternUkraine which has seen successive waves of Central Asians move through the area). Theproblem is that the immediate neighbors of the Norwegians and the Swedes to the north(Saami) and east (Finns) have about 40% and 60% N3 respectively. Thus N3 could havecome from local or East Asian sources and the small numbers play havoc withinterpretation. Still, it may be worthwhile to compare haplotypes and get a sense whetherthe Norse N3 (as seen in Iceland) is more similar to that found in East Asia or among theSaami. Unfortunately, the one major paper to focus on the Saami (Tambets et al., 2004)did not include haplotypes. This is an area for future investigation.

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Haplogroup Q Y Chromosomes undoubtedly emerged in Central Asia and came toNorway at an as yet undetermined time. If they came overland as the crow flies it wouldhave been a very torturous route, and there are no indications that this group is found inany clinal pattern – it seems to hop from place to place. It is probably no coincidencethat it has been observed along the path which the Scythian and Hunnish peoples used intheir migration through Eurasia, but still at very low levels. In the only study ofEuropean haplogroups where Q could be differentiated from related lineages, Tambets etal. (2004), the only location in a broad cross section of European countries where any Qwas detected was Hungary at 2.6% (and also was the only European country to show anyhaplogroup C - .9%).

A very interesting study is that of Barac (2003) who explored the Y chromosomalheritage of Croatia. His genotyping included P*(xM173) which is clearly Q. The studyalso refects the fact that unless a country is sampled widely from all geographicalregions, a lot of important information could be hidden. Barac found that the Adriaticisland of Hvar was unique in having 14% P* - 92R7 (Q) Y chromosomes – compared to arate of .02 on the Croatian Mainland. Here is an enclave of the probable descendants ofone or more of the Central Asian incursions into the European heartland. However, thisisland had by far the lowest percentage of R1a haplotypes in all Croatia at .087%. As anaside, in addition to the Q “anomaly”, Hvar is the only European location to harbor anunmistakably Central Asian mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA; direct female lineage)haplogroup (for example haplgroups H and K are found in both Europe and CentralAsia). Haplogroup F is seen in 8.3% of the population of Hvar according to Tolk et al.(2001). This suggests that the Central Asians who settled here included both male andfemale founders.

One unfortunate problem, alluded to above, is that with rare exceptions researchers atbest simply type to P*(exceptR1b8,R1a,Q3). What this means is that while theresearchers would assume that they had typed R1b Y Chromosomes, there may well havebeen a number of Q that would simply be misclassified as R1b. The classic example isthe excellent study by Helgason et al. who identified a “Branch A” which looked sodifferent from R1b that they speculated that it might represent an as yet unknownhaplogroup. Actually when examining the haplotypes (scores on individual markers) foreach person in the study (since there is a strong correlation between haplotypes andhaplogroups – the latter can often be predicted from a knowledge of the former) - it isvery clear that Branch A is actually haplogroup Q. Thus Helgason et al. inadvertentlyidentified 7% Q in their sample. Therefore by virtue of the “founder effect” or “geneticdrift”, Q may be found at a higher rate in Iceland than anywhere else in the Norse world.However, it may turn out that as the sample size increases for Shetland we will seesimilar number appear there. As to Norway, a problem in seeing it in small samples isthat it is spread non – randomly across the country, with “hot spots” being in the southand north (J.F. Wilson, personal communication, 2004).

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Haplogroup K is in much the same situation as Q, however it is found more widespreadin the Middle East, Southern Europe, as well as Central Asia where it reaches itsmaximum numbers. Haplogroup K appears to be dispersed along the “Silk Road” thatfor centuries has joined east and west. Haplogroup K is even spottier in Scandinavia. Atthis point it appears that it might be more prevalent in Sweden, and in the Faroe Islands(thought to have been settled by the Norwegians and the Swedes during the 9th CenturyAD).

The evidence that Q and K have been in Scandinavia since before the Viking era circa800 AD is that they are both found in Norse colonies at even higher levels than inNorway or Sweden.

Haplogroup R1a is the predominant grouping in many Central Asian peoples, outeclipsing what is seen in Scandinavia. It occurs among the tribal peoples of the Altai andadjacent regions often at rates over 50%. An interesting question is whether thehaplotypes associated with this haplogroup in Scandinavia more closely match those ofEastern Europe (where R1a also predominates), or those of Central Asia, and whetherthere are any specific markers which serve to distinguish Y chromosomes from each ofthese regions. Since the hypothesis being tested in the present study is that there was asignificant migration of people from Central Asia prior to the Viking - Era, it is probablethat the Swedish and Norwegian people (and the colonies they spawned) would not onlyhave Q and K haplotypes (found at very low levels in Scandinavia), but also the “Asianvariety” of R1a.

As an aside, it may be wondered why, if haplogroup C also occurs frequently in theCentral Asian populations, it has not yet show up anywhere in the Scandinavian world. Itis likely that this haplogroup is a relatively recent arrival to the heartland of Asia. Recentwork by Zerjal et al. (2003) has determined that the haplogroup of Genghis Khan was C,and that he and / or his kindred were responsible for “introducing” this form of DNAsignature to the world beyond Eastern Asia to the Caspian Sea. Here 8 percent of thepopulation may be direct descendants, plus others who descend from the cohort ofGenghis Khan. The Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Uyghur have rates even above this figure. SinceGenghis Khan lived 1000 years ago, his signature and others of haplogroup C would notbe expected to show up in a migration that is proposed to have occurred prior to this date.

Since there are relatively few Q and K, Y Chromosomes to study, it makes sense to firstturn to the most numerous of the Central Asian haplogroups, R1a, to see whether theirdescendants can be seen reflected in the DNA signatures of Scandinavia. This willrequire a close analysis of haplotypes, the pattern of from 3 to 37 short tandem repeat(STR) markers that provide the variability within haplogroups. Thus it should bepossible to explore whether there is a subset of R1a chromosomes that more closelymatch those of Central Asia than those of Eastern Europe, or even those of their ownScandinavian neighbors.

The R1a, Y Chromosomes of Scandinavia and the Norse Colonies

30

There are some clues that suggest that there is something different about a subset of R1a,Y chromosomes from Iceland to Sweden.

First, the process of administering the Shetland Islands Y-DNA Surname Project meantthat the author was provided with the series of matches for each R1a individual via theHaplogroup Database of Family Tree DNA. Here a 12 marker haplotype is compared toa world – wide SNP tested database accumulated by Michael Hammer and his team ofthe University of Arizona. Some individuals have most of their close matches in Poland,India, and a variety of locations between. However there is another set of R1aparticipants who match more individuals in China, Mongolia, and Central Asia –particularly the Altai. For example the R1a Shetlanders with aboriginal surnames(patronymic usage genealogically proven) have only a scattering of matches anywhere inEurope, but considerably more located well east of Scandinavia. As an example, the twoR1a Williamsons have 19 matches at the 10/12 level with the Altai, and another 14 at the9 of 12 level. Although details of this database for the Altai has not yet been madeavailable to the author, it is possible to “reverse engineer” things to find a modalhaplotype. The data are clearly from Karafet and Hammer’s work that has 98 Altai intheir database, 46.9% of whom are R1a. Thus there are 46 R1a individuals in thedatabase of whom these participants closely matches 33 with 12 markers. The numbersare similar for R1a Jamieson, Blance, and Robertson among others. By looking at anumber of profiles of participants it is possible to construct the Altai modal haplotype.The other haplotypes are modal in the denoted groups. The raw data is from privatedatabases as well as published databases including Jorgensen et al., 2004, Helgason et al.,2002, Cinnioglu et al., 2003, Family Tree DNA’s Yseach database (www.ysearch.org),and the Forensic User’s Group database (www.yhrd.org).

R1a Haplotypes in Asian and European Populations

R1a

GROUP

393

390

19

391

385a

385b

426

388

439

389|1

392

389|2

438

Williamson 13 25 15 11 11 14 12 12 10 14 11 33 11

31

Robertson 13 25 15 11 11 14 12 12 10 14 11 31 11

ASIAN

Mongolian 13 25 16 11 11 14 11 31Mongolian 13 25 16 11 12 12 10 13 11 31 11Uyghurs 13 25 16 11 12 12 10 13 11 31 11Uyghurs 13 25 16 11 12 12 10 13 11 29 11Altains 13 25 16 11 11 14 12 12 10 14 11 32 11Kyrgyz 13 25 16 11 12 12 10 14 11 32 11Tajiks 13 24 16 11 12 12 10 14 11 32 11Uzbeks 13 24 16 10 12 12 10 13 11 30 11Azeri 13 25 16 10 12 12 10 14 11 32 11Pakistan (a) 13 25 16 10 12 12 10 14 11 31 11Pakistan (b) 13 25 16 11 12 12 10 13 11 31 11 N=233Turkey 13 25 16 11 12 10 13 11 30

EASTERNEUROPE

Combined 13 25 16 10 12 12 11 13 11 29 11Ukraine 13 25 17 10 13 11 29Poland (a) 13 25 16 13 11 29Northern Poland 13 25 17 10 10 14 13 11 30 N=508Ashkenazi Jew 13 25 16 10 12 12 10 13 11 30

SCANDINAVIA

Iceland (a) 13 25 15 11 12 14 11 31Iceland (b) 13 25 15 11 12 13 11 30Faroe Islands 13 25 15 11 11Shetland (a) 13 25 15 11 12 14 11 32Shetland (b) 13 25 15 11 12 13 11 30Orkney (a) 13 25 15 11 12 12 13 11 30Orkney (b) 13 25 16 11 12 12 13 11 30Norway North 13 24 15 11 14 11 31Norway West (a) 13 25 15 11 14 11 30Norway West (b) 13 25 16 10 13 11 30

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Norway Central 13 25 15 11 13 11 29Norway South 13 25 15 11 14 11 30Norway East 13 25 16 11 13 11 30Sweden Osterg. 13 25 17 10 13 11 30Sweden Blekinge 14 25 15 10 13 11 29Sweden Vasterb. 13 25 15 11 13 11 30Sweden Varml. 13 25 16 11 14 11 31Sweden Uppsala 13 25 15 11 13 11 31Sweden Skrasb. 13 25 16 11 13 11 30

It is clear that the Shetland example most closely matches the Central Asian Altai,Kyrghyz, and Tajiks (all from Kazakhstan or other areas along the Chinese border withSiberia), plus the Azeri who reside on the west side of the Caspian Sea. As toScandinavia, the two areas with the closest matches are Northern Norway, and in SwedenUppsala and Varmland; as well as the Norse colony of Iceland. The differences seen inrelation to Northern Poland are perhaps most striking.

There is one more piece of the genetic puzzle that can add significant information on theorigins of the Scandinavian R1a Y Chromosomes, and it relates to one marker whichappears to clearly differentiate some Norwegian haplotypes from all those found inEastern Europe.

A Unique Genetic R1a Polymorphism Separating Norwegians from Eastern Europeans

One potentially important observation here is that among the groups to most closelymatch the Shetland participants are the Khirgiz (Kirghizes), who are called Ases (with Asbeing common as a Turkic ethnic or geographical name), the term given by IcelandicSagas to the ancestors of the Scandinavian Royalty. This observation will be addressedin detail later.

In looking at the haplogroup and the haplotype data presented so far there are fairlysweeping conclusions that can be made. However, these will be strengthened if it can beshown that a subset of Norwegian R1a differ from their Eastern European counterparts(since R1a can reach levels as high as 50% in nearby Poland), and even the Norwegianswho share the same haplogroup but who hypothetically do not descend from a CentralAsian source but rather the same ancestral group as the Poles and Ukrainians.

Passarino et al. (2002) examined 72 Norwegian Y chromosomes, of which 24% were R1a- M17. He only examined microsatellite markers DYS19 and YCAIIa,b. However hewas able to see a clear differentiation within the R1a grouping. 9 of 17 (53%) hadDYS19 = 15 or 16 along with the YCAIIa,b scores of 19,23 whereas 7 of 17 (41%) had a19,21 pattern. This means that the R1a, Y chromosomes of Norway have two very“distinctive microsatellite motifs” (p. 523), which translates to a bimodal distribution.

33

What is most interesting is that while the first cluster above is found to be the mostwidely distributed (Western Europe to India) of any of 53 identified combinations of thea and b components; the second (19,21) is virtually absent from all areas yet testedPassarino et al. (2001a). The only Central Asian group to be tested using this marker isthe Yakuts who are overwhelmingly of haplogroup N3 (88%). It is simply not possible toeven infer to which haplogroup the 3.3% who have the 19,21 pattern belong. If the thesisof the present work holds up, however, they would be the few R1a Yakuts noted in otherpublications. Only one paper, again by Passarino et al. (2001b) provides a partial answer.Of 261 individuals who are Eu19 (R1a), the vast majority are 15, 16, or 17 for DYS19and 19,23 for YCAIIa,b. There very few individuals who have the motif 19,21 and onlyone is from Western or Eastern Europe but he has a value of DYS19 = 14 which is veryseldom seen (one male from India also has this exact motif, but a different 49a,f Taqhaplotype). Three are from India (N=23); and two from the Middle East (N=35) – whohave the more typical ht = 11; but one male from India has DYS19 = 14 and is Taq = 51.Since Taq markers are seldom ever measured, this finding remains tantalizing but ofmarginal use in the present context. The point is, however, that the only location otherthan Norway where the YCAIIa,b motif of 19,21 is seen is India and the Middle East, notCentral Europe

There have, however, been 5 individuals with an R1a haplotype who are participants inthe Shetland Project and who have 37 marker haplotypes which include YCAIIa,b. Apreliminary observation is that those who have close matches with the Altai on the first12 markers all have YCAIIa,b of 19,21 or the one step mutation 19,20. Those whosematches are primarily in Eastern Europe have the common 19,23 grouping. Although farfrom confirming the hypothesis, this observation does offer some small support to theproposal that there are R1a, Y chromosomes from ancestral Eastern European sources inthe Norse population, as well as a somewhat smaller percentage whose deep roots lie inCentral Asia. The author will hypothesize, from the YCAIIa,b haplotype data, above, aswell as the large Icelandic sample of Helgason showing the values of key markers, thatthe R1a figure may be approximately 60% European and 40% Asian origin. Work ispresently progressing to test the Altai samples for the YCAIIa,b marker and the resultswill be key to the thesis of the present study.

The only published study of a M17 Central Asian to include the YCAIIa,b locus is fromancient samples. Keyser – Tracqui et al. (2003), whose study was noted earlier,examined the remains of a 2000 year old burial ground in the Egyin Gol Valley ofMongolia. Here they sequenced 10 STR markers for their 27 males samples. Althoughsome markers failed to amplify, it is clear that at least three of the samples were R1a1 –M17 based on an analysis of the marker values (see values highlighted in blue in abovetable). All were modal for the Mongolian samples noted in the chart above, suggesting along continuity in the area. Only one of the three had values for all markers, and thisindividual was 19,23 for the YCAIIa,b locus – which is the pattern seen by far mostfrequently in M17 Y chromosomes. Clearly all M17 Central Asians will not have themotif 19,21 (as is true of India) which is proposed in this study to link Scandinavia toCentral Asia. A more definitive statement must await the testing of the Altai samplesnoted above. It is particularly interesting to note that the above authors identify these

34

people as the Xiongnu, the probable eastern cousins (how closely related genetically canonly be speculated) of the Huns who arrived on the doorstep of Europe about 300 yearsafter the burial of these individuals.

It would be ideal for the purposes of the thesis of the present work should there happen tobe one or more SNPs beyond (downstream) from M17 (the defining marker of R1a1) thatare unique to Central Asia, and some of the R1a individuals in the Scandinaviandatabases. In a database of 34 Central Asian Y chromosomes Underhill et al. (2000), 30were M17 alone, one also included M56, and three had the M64/87 combination. Testingof Y chromosomes known or likely to have originated in Scandinavia for these markerswill be completed in the near future. One person so tested was negative for all markersexcept M17 (S. Perkins, 2004, personal communication). Recently a larger set ofmarkers associated with M17 has come to light. Vallone and Butler (2004) have reportedM19, M157, and M87 in their sample.

Q Haplotypes in Asian and European Populations

If there is one thing that is crystal clear about populations in Central Asia it is that withhaplogroup Q there is extreme diversity. This is to be expected since the grouporiginated in this region. Below are modal (sometimes the mean was used as a measureof central tendency when there was no clear modal value). The Tajiks and Kyrgyz havebeen combined due to the otherwise small sample size and the fact that they are proximalgroups. Q is found but rarely in Europe, but databases were scoured for any that wasavailable – most being found in Yseach at www.ysearch.org.

Q

GROUP

393

390

19

391

385a

385b

426

388

439

389|1

392

389|2

438

YCAIIa,b

Hay(son) 13 23 13 10 13 17 12 12 13 12 12 29 11 19,20

ASIAN

35

Mongolian 13 24 13 10 15 17 15 29 19,20Uyghurs 13 23 13 10 11 12 12 14 14 31 11Kazaks 13 23 13 10 12 12 12 14 14 31 11Dungan 13 24 14 10 12 12 11 13 13 29 12Kyrgyz-Tajiks 13 24 14 10 12 12 11 14 13 30 11Uzbeks 13 24 14 11 12 12 11 13 13 29 11Uzbek M-242 13 23 13 10 12 12 12 11 13 28 11 N=19Pamiri M-242 13 23 13 10 12 12 12 11 13 28 11 N=13Turkmen 12 24 14 11 12 12 12 13 13 29 12Kurds 12 24 14 10 12 12 13 13 13 30 12Armenians 12 23 14 10 12 12 12 13 14 28 12Turkey 13 22 13 10 12 12 13 15 29

EASTERNEUROPE

Combined 13 22 13 10 14 17 12 12 12 13 15 29Ashkenazi Jew 13 22 13 10 12 12 12 13 15 29

GT. BRITAIN

Combined 13 23 13 10 13 17 12 12 12 12 12 29

SCANDINAVIAIceland 13 23 13 10 12 12 12 28

The evidence shows that the closest matches of the Shetland Q participant are to Icelandand Great Britain combined. The variability across all other areas suggest that there are alarge number of lineages of Q, and that in all probability those that were the progenitorsto the peoples of Scandinavia were a subset (and example of the founder effect) of thoseseen in Kazakhstan (but as yet not appearing in any database). With extreme diversity itis necessary to have sample sizes much larger than those presently available. The aboveMongolian sample above, highlighted in blue, is a 2000 year old archaeological sample(see R1a description above), and what is particularly interesting is that the YCAIIa,bvalues (not measured in the research literature on those living anywhere in Central Asiawith a SNP tested sample) matches the Shetland sample – but without SNP testing it isnot possible to be absolutely certain that we are in fact seeing a Q sample.

An interesting and noteworthy finding is the data in relation to those samples tested forthe M-242 marker (from Seielstad, 2003) that is found on all Y chromosomes alsocarrying the M3 variation (predominant in the Americas). See also Bartolini et al.

36

(2003). Most of the other samples were P-M45* or were not tested for the M242variation. In other words there are two basic Q haplogroup variations in Central Asia, butthe haplotype diversity for both is so extreme (e.g., repeat values of 5 to 11 for DYS391)that finding modal values frequently requires the use of the mean as a measure of centraltendency. It is unknown at this point whether the Shetland participant is P-M45* or Q-M242.

K Haplogroup in Asian and European Populations

K is extremely rare in Europe (where it is seen primarily in the southern tier), butcommon in Central Asia and the Middle East. Thus it is not possible to obtain samplesfrom most of Europe.

K

GROUP

393

390

19

391

385a

385b

426

388

439

389|1

392

389|2

438

YCAIIa,b

Jamieson 13 23 14 10 14 15 11 12 10 14 13 32

ASIAN

Mongolian 13 23 14 14Mongolian 12 24 14 10 11 12 12 13 14 29 10Uygurs 13 23 15 10 11 12 12 12 13 29 10Dungan 12 24 14 10 11 11 11 12 14 28 10Kazaks 12 23 15 10 11 12 12 12 13 29 10Turkey 13 23 14 10 12 12 14 13 30

EASTERNEUROPE

37

Combined - - - - - - - - - - - - -Ashkenazi Jew 13 23 14 10 11 12 12 12 13 29

GT. BRITAIN

Combined - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SCANDINAVIAFaroe Islands 1 13 24 14 10 13Faroe Islands 2 13 23 14 10 11

There are extreme variations in those who have the K haplogroup (high diversity), andlow sample sizes in private databases and published studies mean that it will be relativerare in some populations in Asia and most in Europe. It is more concentrated in CentralAsia and the Middle East, and is virtually absent in Northern Europe with the exceptionof the Scandinavia countries and Norse colonies.

Searching the database of the 2000 year old Mongolian necropolis (see discussion R1aabove) there was only one sample that appeared to be Haplogroup K, denoted in blue(although without SNP testing this is only a hypothesis).

Shetland Project Participants and the Azeri - Armenia

While there are obvious similarities between the R1a Shetland participant and certainAsian populations, Q and K show extreme haplotype diversity in all Asian populations.The only consistency was inconsistency, and there were few near matches at all – withone possibly very significant exception – the Azeri people of Azerbaijan and theirimmediate neighbors in Armenia. Included in the chart below will be the marker valuesfor each participant along with that found within the Azeri and Armenian (R1a, N=1; Q,N=3; K, N=1) samples. This appears to be the only population in Eastern Europe or Asiain which a single group has a cluster of Asian genetic types that most closely match allthree participants in the Shetland study.

38

AZERI &ARMENIA

+

ShetlandIslandsParticpant

393

390

19

391

385a

385b

426

388

439

389|1

392

389|2

438

HAPLOGROUP

Williamson 13 25 15 11 11 14 12 12 10 14 11 33 11 R1aAZERI 13 25 16 10 11 14 12 12 10 14 11 32 11 R1aARMENIA 13 25 15 11 12 11 R1a

Hay 13 23 13 10 12 12 13 12 12 29 QAZERI 12 24 14 11 12 12 12 12 14 28 Q

12 23 14 11 12 12 12 13 13 29 Q

Jamieson 13 23 14 10 11 12 10 14 13 32 KAZERI 13 23 14 10 11 12 11 14 13 32 KARMENIA 13 23 14 10 12 13 K2

While the values above for the Azeri are based on very small sample sized (N = 1 or 2) ina private database, those for the Armenian sample include 37 R1a and 36 K2 (Weale etal., 2001). The marker numbers above represent the most frequently occurring haplotypemotif in the entire sample – and each is an exact match to the Shetland participants. It isnoteworthy that the DYS19 = 15 value is modal in the Armenian sample as well astypical of Shetland; whereas 16 is more commonly occurring across the region fromMongolia to the Ukraine. Unfortunately Q was not typed (and may be embedded amongthe R category in this study). It appears that in addition to Central Asia, this area of theCaucasus has haplotypes similar or identical to those from Shetland.

39

Equine Genetic Support

Bjornstad et al. (2003) set out to test the theory that the native NorwegianNordland/Lyngen and Fjord horse breeds would show a genetic similarity to the nativeMongolian horse due to the accompaniment of horses in a proposed migration of humansfrom Central Asia to Norway. They used 26 STR microsatellites in collected blood andhair samples, and showed the close genetic relationship between the breeds as predictedand not between these horses and, for example, Standardbred trotters. In addition, “Thepresence of primitive phenotypes in the Fjord horse, such as a dark eel stripe along theback and occasionally transverse stripes on the legs, suggests that the breed is old andcould be traced directly back to the Asiatic wild horse”. (p. 56) They estimated that thereis the about the same distance between the Fjord horse and its descendant the Icelandichorse as there is between the Fjord horse and the Mongolian horse – therefore about 875years. Assuming that this estimate is roughly accurate then the people who brought thehorse left Mongolia about 150 BC - which is in agreement with the historical evidenceto be presented in the present study.

Conclusions in Relation to the Historical, Archaeological, Linguistic and GeneticFindings

Based on the data above, the following interpretation is set forth, and related in storyfashion going back to the dawn of mankind in Central Asia.

The evidence provided by a series of genetic studies (e.g., Wells, 2002) pointsconvincingly toward a movement of humans about 45,000 years ago, out of Africa (withY chromosome marker M89 derived from M168) and into the Levant area of the MiddleEast. However a man born about 40,000 years ago in the area of modern Iran had a newmutation on the Y chromosome (M9) and he became the ancestor to the majority ofEurasians. His descendants first headed east across the steepes and over the mountainranges of the south central Asian highlands – all of which merge at Pamir Knot inTajikistan. Here, about 35,000 years ago M45 came into existence, while M9descendants also continued to flourish. The harsh climatic conditions of the Ice Ageforced upon the people a lifestyle that would put their survival skills to the test. Fromtheir mountain retreats they would roam the steepes in search of large herbivores (e.g.,reindeer and mammoths). Some people, who had a M175 mutation on M9 headedthrough the passes used by Genghis Khan much later and so into East Asia. Meanwhileback in the central Asian heartland another change occurred on the M45 lineage with anew marker M242, which is the prototypic Siberian marker (haplogroup Q) originatingwest of Lake Baikal , and finally splitting off into a subset via another marker M3(haplogroup Q3) which, became the ancestral lineage of the majority of those whomigrated to North America about 15,000 years ago. At about the same time that M242emerged, another M45 mutation occurred in Central Asia, M173 which was to becomeancestral to most western Europeans via the R1b. It appears that along the path towestern Europe, about 10 to 15,000 years ago, a further mutation occurred – M17. Oneschool of thought proposes that it arose in the area of the steepes of the Ukraine among

40

those of the Kurgan culture whose lifestyle depended on the horse. These peopleapparently spoke an Indo – European language and ultimately spread south to India, andsome, perhaps accompanied by peoples who originated in the Middle East (e.g.,haplogroup K) followed a migratory path from the Middle East to Central Asia and theAltai Mountains where their numbers rivaled that of their distant Q cousins. Anotherviewpoint is that R1a originated in Northern Pakistan where haplotype diversity appearsto be highest (pointing to the source of the mutation being in this region). Whicheverhypothesis is accepted, the R1a people likely brought the horse and the associatednomadic culture to the Altai and Central Asian steepes. Here the Scythian cultureemerged as reflected in the elaborate burials noted earlier.

For thousands of years the peoples of the Altai who were largely of haplotype R1alineage with smaller numbers of Q and K, and continued to live the nomadic lifestyle oftheir ancestors. In the years preceding the birth of Christ there appear to have beenpressures exerted by the Chinese peoples who lived nearby, and perhaps also due to anexplosion in population, some of these Scythian peoples began to move in successivewaves to the west toward the Caspian Sea. Based on the haplotype examination above,and recognizing that population structure may have changed over time, the tribal groupsand geographic regions that appear to have made the most significant contribution to thismigration include the Altai of the Altai Mountains of Siberia near the Mongolian border,and the people who today are known as the Khirgyz and Tajiks from Khirgystan andTajikistan. They followed the old “Silk Road” to beyond the Aral Sea and the CaspianSea to the Don River and the Azov Sea. Here they came directly into contact with thedescendants of a Swedish people known as the Ostrogoths (there still being a city of thisname in Sweden today). These latter people had begun their long march south (asreflected in the series of dated archaeological sites), and by the 4th Century AD hadabsorbed the local Scythian peoples, the Alans or Ases people across the top of the BlackSea west to the Danube River. Into this mélange in the year 376 came the Scythian Hunswho in turn drove off the western branches of the Ostrogoths and other Germanicpeoples, and subjugated the proximal Ostrogoths. Here they co-existed and according tosome sources the Scythian peoples came to use German as the lingua franca of the day.Here a leader known as Uldin (Odin in Norse) emerges and makes a name for himself inthe Roman world before disappearing from the world’s stage (i.e., from the awareness ofthe classical writers) in 408. The Icelandic Sagas report that the Asir people residedacross the River Don, with their principal settlement being a city wedged along theCaucasus Mountains, and it is here that Odin’s two brothers stayed with some of theirpeople as Odin began his northward migration. Thus we should expect to find somegroup of people in the area who conform to the descriptions of Snorri. The Azeri people(Azer being as close to Aesir as one can imagine) are today a group residing in themountains of Azerbaijan. Clearly they have intermixed with the local Middle Easternpopulation as reflected in the predominance of the haplogroup J signature in the Azeris.However there is a contingent still present in this population, dissimilar to theirneighbors, who in fact carry the three Asian signatures seen in Shetland (a Norse colony),and the signatures are more similar between these two northern and southern regions thanany other group between Turkey and Mongolia. It is likely that the R1a, K and the Q

41

identified in this study are from Central Asia – the home of the Aseri R1a signature,which is modal to those detected in Central Asian Altai populations.

In the epoch known as the “Migration Period”, there were waves of documented andundocumented mass movements of people across vast expanses of Europe such thatGermanic peoples were found in Italy, Spain and North Africa by the middle of the 5th

Century. It is proposed that, as is reported in the Norse Sagas written down by SnorriSturluson, Uldin and the composite Sarmatian / Hunnish – Germanic people thataccompanied him moved north to the homeland of the Ostrogoths, negotiated with Gilfyrthe then king of the Sveres (probably making him an offer of power sharing that Gilfyrcould not refuse – considering the Hun reputation for the use of extreme violence to gettheir way) for lands around Lake Malar at Gamla Uppsala to settle the majority of hispeople. He did, however, send his sons to occupy other lands, including Oslofjord inNorway.

This perspective on history is supported by the archaeological record where at GamlaUppsala there are three burial mounds attributed to the kings of Sweden in the 5th

Century, and the burial practices are consistent with those of the Scythian peoples(cremation burials with a wealth of grave goods with a twenty foot mound over top).Similar burials are seen all the way back to before the birth of Christ in the Altai.

Furthermore, in looking at the R1a genetic signatures of 4 locations in Norway and 5 inSweden, it is clear that the people who most resemble the Y chromosome DNAsignatures in the Altai are found at Gamla Uppsala and Vasterbotten in Sweden, and alsoin Northern Norway. Furthermore in the Norse colonies of Shetland and Iceland the R1asignatures of about 30% of those with this haplogroup are similar to those of NorthernNorway as well as in Southern Norway which historically are the areas considered tohave been the source population for those who emigrated to Shetland and Iceland duringViking times. This subset of Norse signatures seen in parts of Sweden and Norway aswell as the latter’s colonies do not resemble those of Eastern Europe, whereas the largercomponent of R1a in Scandinavia is indistinguishable from Eastern Europe wherepresumably their ancestors originated. It is likely that the latter were already present inall of Scandinavia before the Asian peoples made their arrival in the early 5th Century –or that the Ostrogoth returnees had Eastern European R1a signatures inherited from theirancestors from 400 years previous.

While the emphasis here has been on the R1a, Y chromosomes, it is the Q that is (otherthan a sprinkling along migration paths) seldom found west of Central Asia. It is thissignature that speaks loudest as to the immigration of Asians to Scandinavia. It is notfound anywhere between Russia and Spain at even 1%, although is found at low levelsfurther south in Turkey and Hungary – both areas which in historical times have been“exposed” to Hunnish peoples. Q is found in Norway and her colonies (including Britain– but at very low levels). A reasonable estimate of Q in Norway would be 4% - but veryscattered and would only manifest itself in large samples or in regions where through thefounder effect or genetic drift more Q is concentrated. This figure also applies to Icelandand Shetland. The K from the Asia turns up very occasionally in Swedish and

42

Norwegian samples, and has been documented in the Faroe Islands (a Norse colony) andShetland. Clearly it seems probable by an examination of the distribution of Ychromosomes today that the majority of the Asian group was R1a, followed by Q, then K.The best estimate of the total percentage of Asian Y chromosomes in the Norsepopulation is 4% Q plus 1% K plus 10% via R1a making a total of 15%. The reason whythe timing of the influx of people can be dated to before 793 is that Q is also found in thecolonies founded by Norway during early Viking times. The human genetic data is evensupported by a comparison of the genetics of the Norwegian Fjord horse and theMongolian horse and the data suggests that the migrants to Scandinavia brought withthem their prized horses which became the root stock of the Norwegian equines of today.

The author has used genetic data as well as historical, linguistic and archaeologicalinformation to support the descriptions of Snorri Sturluson in The Prose Eddas andHeimskringla as to how and when the Asian peoples arrived in Scandinavia to found theSwedish and Norse royal dynasties. As well, this data supports the basic assertions of thecontroversial Thor Heyerdahl as to the connection between the Azeri people and theScandinavians.

The facts can speak for themselves, but need to be put in a theoretical framework that is a“best fit”. The converging data sources appear to support the hypothesis set forth in thepresent work. If the evidence presented here can withstand the scrutiny of others, and thetest of time, then it will be necessary to include the details of the migration of Mongolian– Azeri forbearers when speaking of Scandinavian history.

________________________________________________________________________

References

The above represents a work in progress. It has been years in the making. The genesiswas when the DNA findings for my uncle Williamson were reported. As time permits itwill evolve, with new data and references added.

Dr. David K. Faux, Seal Beach, California, fauxdk { at } yahoo.com

Version: 17 June 2007.

2004 – 2007 David K. Faux. The material contained within this document is theintellectual property of the author. It is acceptable to copy this paper for personal study,make short quotes with proper credit, and to place a link to it on another website. Anyother uses are expressly forbidden without the written permission of the author.